NHK reported at noon that a senior official of the Biden administration told the network on Sunday that the U.S. has been reaching out to North Korea through such channels as the North Korean mission to the UN in New York since mid-February. The official reportedly said: “In order to avoid the risk of tensions escalating, we have reached out to the North Korean government through several channels.” The official reportedly added, however: “As of now, we have not received any response from Pyongyang. Despite several attempts to engage, we have been unable to hold any active dialogue with North Korea for more than a year.” The official also reportedly indicated that the Biden administration will soon decide on a new policy on North Korea by saying: “We have been talking with Japan and South Korea in coming up with a new way to deal with North Korea. In a few weeks, we will finish conducting a comprehensive review of our policy that involves many stakeholders.”