Biden must decide on North Korea strategy early, says top Obama-era diplomat

Kurt Campbell says the delay in acting on Pyongyang in previous Democratic administration headed off any possibility of engagement'

The incoming US administration will have to make an early decision on what approach it will take with North Korea, and not repeat the delay of the Obama era, a former US official who has advised President-elect Joe Biden has said.

Kurt Campbell, the top US diplomat for east Asia under President Barack Obama and seen as a contender for a senior position under Biden, said the administration he had served in began with a rather prolonged period of study" on how to handle Pyongyang.