The United States should open dialogue with North Korea because ignoring the communist regime would only make the already bad situation worse, a former top American nuclear negotiator with Pyongyang said.

Robert Gallucci, who defused the first North Korean nuclear crisis by negotiating the 1994 Agreed Framework deal with Pyongyang, also said in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency that he is willing to play a role in helping resolve the standoff if asked by the U.S. government.