Biden administration started outreach to North Korea last month, but country is unresponsive

The Biden administration launched a behind-the-scenes push last month to reach out to North Korea through multiple channels, a senior administration official has told CNN, but thus far Pyongyang has been unresponsive.

"To reduce the risks of escalation, we reached out to the North Korean government through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York," the official said. "To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang. This follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the US to engage." The official did not provide further details of what the outreach entailed but noted the administration has been conducting its interagency review of the United States' policy towards North Korea, "including evaluation of all available options to address the increasing threat posed by North Korea to its neighbors and the broader international community."