U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions, backing away from a key U.S. demand that Pyongyang must first accept that giving up its nuclear arsenal would be part of any negotiations.
Tillersonâs new diplomatic overture comes nearly two weeks after North Korea said it had successfully tested a breakthrough intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that put the entire United States mainland within range of its nuclear weapons.
âLetâs just meet,â Tillerson said in a speech to Washingtonâs Atlantic Council think tank on Tuesday.
The White House later issued an ambiguous statement that left unclear whether President Donald Trump – who has said Tillerson was wasting his time pursuing dialogue with North Korea – had given his approval for the speech.
âThe presidentâs views on North Korea have not changed,â the White House said. âNorth Korea is acting in an unsafe way … North Koreaâs actions are not good for anyone and certainly not good for North Korea.â
Ahead of Tillersonâs speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to develop more nuclear weapons while personally decorating scientists and officials who contributed to the development of Pyongyangâs most advanced ICBM, according to North Korean state media on Wednesday.
Kim said on Tuesday the scientists and workers would continue manufacturing âmore latest weapons and equipmentâ to âbolster up the nuclear force in quality and quantityâ, the KCNA news agency reported.
While reiterating Washingtonâs long-standing position that it cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea, Tillerson said the United States was âready to talk any time theyâre ready to talkâ, but there would first have to be a âperiod of quietâ without nuclear and missile tests.
United Nations political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman, who visited Pyongyang last week, said senior North Korean officials did not offer any type of commitment to talks, but he believes he left âthe door ajarâ.
âTime will tell what was the impact of our discussions, but I think we have left the door ajar and I fervently hope that the door to a negotiated solution will now be opened wide,â Feltman told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
Not everyone is ready for talks.
Japan has advocated a strategy of pressuring North Korea through sanctions to give up its nuclear weapons. Tokyo and Washington are in â100 percentâ agreement about that stance, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday when asked about Tillersonâs comments.
A former Japanese diplomat said that, while a diplomatic solution was the âonly acceptable solutionâ, now was not the time for talks.
âWe have to see the effects of sanctions on life in North Korea,â the former diplomat, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
âI heard that they are having a serious impact on everyday life. Letâs wait and see. If we were to hint anything for dialogue, weâd be losing clout,â he said.
South Korea continued with its military exercises with the United States to check military readiness, exercises the North describes as preparation for war. The Southâs army said separately on Wednesday it conducted a successful air-to-air missile firing drill from Apache helicopters.
Tillerson also disclosed the United States had been talking to China about how to secure North Koreaâs nuclear weapons in the event of a collapse of the government in Pyongyang. He said Beijing had been given assurances that if U.S. forces had to cross into North Korea they would pull back across the border into the South.
However, he made clear that the United States wants to resolve the North Korea standoff through peaceful diplomacy and, in terms far more tempered than Trumpâs recent threats against Pyongyang, offered to hold exploratory talks.
âWe can talk about the weather if you want. We can talk about whether itâs going to be a square table or a round table,â he said. âThen we can begin to lay out a map, a road map, of what we might be willing to work towards.â
Tillerson – whose influence has appeared to wane within the administration – said Trump âhas encouraged our diplomatic effortsâ.
Trump said on Twitter in October that Tillerson was âwasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Manâ, using his derisive nickname for Kim.
North Korea, for its part, has made clear that it has little interest in negotiations with the United States until it has developed the ability to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-tipped missile, something most experts say it has still not proved.
Tillerson also said the United States was working to tighten enforcement of international sanctions against North Korea, especially further measures that China can apply, and that Washington had a full menu of military options if such a response was needed.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the non-partisan Arms Control Association, said Tillersonâs proposal was overdue but that âin order to get to such talks going, the U.S. side as well as North Korea must demonstrate more restraintâ.
Source: Reuters