‘CVID should be maintained,’ says US Ambassador nominee

Philip Goldberg, nominee for U.S. ambassador to South Korea, on Thursday called North Korea a ‘rogue regime’ and said “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization should be maintained decisively and continuously.” The Joe Biden administration is accelerating its move to shift to a hardline stance against Pyongyang, which is elevating its nuclear threat.

The career diplomat made the remarks during his confirmation hearing at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the day, saying, “CVID expands and deepens the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and complies with U.S.’s deterrence policy aimed at defending (South Korea) from the North Korean rogue regime, which violates UN Security Council resolutions.” Pyongyang has been strongly opposing CVID, saying, “It is a unilateral demand for surrender.” The Biden administration has been using the expression‎ ‘complete denuclearization’ in lieu of CVID at the request of the Moon Jae-in administration.

Goldberg made the statement at a time when the Biden administration has disclosed its hardline stance against the North, warning of the North’s possible provocations. The U.S. disclosed intelligence on the North’s moves to test-fire ICBMs and resume nuclear tests, before hinting at the possibility for Washington to seek additional UNSC sanctions and the deployment of strategic assets against Pyongyang.


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