US Senator John Kerry has called for Washington to provide food aid to North Korea and resume joint searches for Korean War missing, warning of risks to refusing to engage the communist state.

In an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times, the influential senator conceded that there were few good options in dealing with North Korea but said that current US inaction "only invites a dangerous situation to get worse."

The US response to tensions with North Korea "has been measured but firm. It has also been inadequate," said Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The best alternative is for the United States to engage North Korea directly," the Democratic senator from Massachusetts wrote.

Kerry said that the United States should provide food assistance to hungry children and other vulnerable groups, subject to careful monitoring. Relief groups have reported widespread hunger in the impoverished country.

"After two years of near-silence, re-establishing contact would demonstrate that cooperation is possible, if only on humanitarian issues at first. Then we can move on to tougher issues, including dismantling North Korea's nuclear program," Kerry wrote.

Kerry also called for the United States to resume work with North Korea to find the remains of the nearly 8,000 US servicemen who remain missing from the 1950-53 Korean War.

The joint searches, first launched in 1996, provided a rare opportunity for Americans to work in North Korea. Then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld suspended the missions in 2005, citing fears over US personnel's safety.

Kerry is normally a close ally of President Barack Obama, but his view on North Korea differs with the administration's policy of "strategic patience" -- refusing any perceived concessions until North Korea addresses key concerns.

The administration has not made a decision on food aid, with some officials fearing that the regime is exaggerating its hunger problems so it can stock up on food for national celebrations next year.

Many lawmakers from the rival Republican Party are strongly opposed to food aid to North Korea, with the Republican-led House of Representatives moving this month to prohibit assistance.

North Korea, which has tested two nuclear bombs, stormed out of six-nation denuclearization talks in 2009 when it accused the United States of hostility.

North Korea has since said it is willing to talk, but the Obama administration wants it to commit clearly to past denuclearization accords and to makes amends with South Korea after the deadly shelling of a civilian island and the sinking of a warship that killed 46 sailors.

Kerry acknowledged that "complete denuclearization will take time" but said the United States should seek intermediate steps from North Korea such as an end to its enrichment of uranium and a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests.

Kerry has long been a supporter of direct talks with North Korea, a position he took during his failed 2004 presidential campaign when he accused incumbent George W. Bush of setting the stage for crisis with Pyongyang.

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