Biden will have to make early decision on North Korea - adviser

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden listens after announcing nominees and appointees to serve on his economic policy team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., December 1, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming U.S. 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 U.S. official who has advised President-elect Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. 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.