If North Korea had reciprocated in a timely manner following US envoy William Perry’s visit to Pyongyang in May 1999, President Bill Clinton’s policy of engagement with the North might have been upgraded to a push for normalization of diplomatic relations. Instead, the North procrastinated, sending Vice Marshall Jo Myong-rok to the US only in October 2000, near the end of Clinton’s presidency.
那十年中还错过了另外一次机会。如果朝鲜在1999年5月美国特使威廉·佩里​​访问平壤后及时回访，那么比尔·克林顿总统对朝接触政策可能已经升级为外交关系正常化的努力。相反，朝鲜却一拖再拖，直到2000年10月克林顿任期接近尾声时才派次帅赵明禄访美。几个月后，新当选总统乔治·W·布什推翻了克林顿的朝鲜政策。