On January 20, 2021, Markus Garlauskas, the former US National Intelligence Officer for North Korea and nonresident senior fellow with the Asia Security Initiative, was quoted in NK News for his comments on how the incoming Biden administration should deal with North Korea’s nuclear weapons. He argued that the focus should be to prevent further testing of ballistic missiles and that the broader priority be shifted to stopping and reducing the risks created by North Korea’s increasing strategic weapons capability.
“In the short-term, the most realistic focus would be on providing Pyongyang with strong incentives not to resume ballistic missile testing, while rebuilding the international consensus to enforce the United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit such testing… A more realistic overall approach would be to fundamentally change U.S. strategy on North Korea. [Biden should] shift priority to mitigating and reducing the rapidly growing risks posed by North Korea’s advancing nuclear capabilities in the next four years.”
