John Kerry is hoping to offer North Korea “a more legitimate entry road to the global community and to the norms of international behavior.” The example the secretary of state has for the rogue regime? Iran.
“The United States has said many times, and I repeat today, we are not seeking conflict; we are seeking a peaceful resolution of the differences that still exist after so many years on the peninsula. We have offered humanitarian assistance. We offer the possibilities of a normal relationship with normal economic assistance and other kinds of engagement with the rest of the world if he will simply make the decision to come to the table and deal on the issue of his nuclear program,” Kerry told the press in response to a question about whether U.S. policy toward North Korea would change.
“There is a stark comparison between the direction in which he is moving and the direction in which Iran has chosen to move, at least to this moment. And our hopes are that if we can, at the end of June, succeed in achieving an agreement with Iran, perhaps that can serve as an example to North Korea about a better way to move, a better way to try to behave, a more legitimate entry road to the global community and to the norms of international behavior.”
Kerry made the comments at a press conference Seoul, South Korea.
