Both pressure and diplomatic options are on the table for dealing with North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, hours after a senior North Korean diplomat rejected any talks until Washington changed its policies.
Blinken told a joint briefing with South Korean officials in Seoul that the administration of President Joe Biden would complete its review of North Korea policy in the next few weeks in close consultation with its allies.
Both pressure and diplomatic options were being considered, he added, but declined to elaborate when asked what approach the United States would take after the review.
The comments came hours after North Korean official Choe Son Hui called the Biden administration's attempts to contact Pyongyang a "cheap trick", in the North's first public statement on the matter.