South Korea calls for u.s. sanction flexibility on North Korea

Protesters hold a banner denouncing policies of the United States and South Korean governments on North Korea near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. The South Korean and U.S. presidents agreed on the need for a comprehensive strategy on North Korea as they push to work together to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, officials said. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:54 AM PT – Thursday, February 4, 2021

South Korea has urged the U.S. to be more flexible with sanctions on North Korea. The country’s minister of unification, Lee In-young, made that suggestion at a news conference on Wednesday.

This comes as South Korea is turning to D.C. to pick up the stalled talks with Pyongyang amid hopes of restarting economic cooperation with its northern neighbor.

“We have to look back at the aspect that flexibly applying sanctions, depending on the situation, could play a role in expediting denuclearization negotiations,” stated Minister In-young.

.@POTUS spoke today with President @moonriver365 to stress his commitment to strengthening the U.S.-ROK alliance. The two leaders agreed to closely coordinate on the DPRK. Link to readout: https://t.co/SajhCCUKAR

— U.S. Embassy Seoul (@USEmbassySeoul) February 4, 2021

In the meantime, Joe Biden is facing pressure to build on the Trump administration’s progress on denuclearizing the East Asian country. The White House has not yet announced its policy regarding North Korea.

According to the U.S. Embassy Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in spoke with Biden in a call this week in which he pledged a continued alliance with the U.S.

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