WASHINGTON: The United States, looking for a diplomatic breakthrough on the Korean Peninsula, has begun weighing a fresh effort at engagement with the government of North Korea, The New York Times reported.

Citing unnamed officials and analysts, the newspaper said a new overture to Pyongyang would be preceded by additional pressure tactics.

But it suggests that the administration of President Barack Obama has concluded that pressure alone will not be enough to move North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-il.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton solicited ideas from outside experts and former officials about the next steps in policy toward North Korea at a high-level meeting last week, the report said.

The consensus, even among the hawks, was that the United States needed to resume some form of contact with Kim, the paper said.

Clinton expressed impatience with the current policy, which is based on ever more stringent economic sanctions and joint US-South Korean naval exercises, which have been launched in response to the sinking in March of a South Korean warship, for which South Korea blamed the North, The Times said.

Among those advocating a fresh overture to Pyongyang is Stephen Bosworth, the special envoy for North Korea, the report said.

He visited Pyongyang in December to explore the prospect of talks, but the Obama administration could not decide whether to schedule a follow-up meeting, The Times noted.

BDST: 1130 HRS, August 28, 2010