No Script

Please Wait...

Al-Ahed Telegram

US State Dept. Walks Back Tillerson’s Call for Talks with NKorea

US State Dept. Walks Back Tillerson’s Call for Talks with NKorea
folder_openUnited States access_time6 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert appeared to walk back statements by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling for negotiations with North Korea. Nauert said Pyongyang would have to suspend weapons tests before talks could take place.

US State Dept. Walks Back Tillerson’s Call for Talks with NKorea


"We're ready to talk anytime they'd like to talk," Tillerson said on Tuesday, during a question-and-answer session at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. "We are ready to have the first meeting without preconditions. Let's just meet."

On Wednesday, Nauert said that Tillerson's comments were not an announcement of a shift in US policy. North Korea would have to suspend its weapons program before any talks could talk place, "and we certainly haven't seen that right now," she said.

Tillerson signaled that the Trump administration was ready to negotiate without demanding North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs.

"It's not realistic to say we are only going to talk if you come to the table ready to give up your program," he said. "They have too much invested in it."

While this was reported as willingness to talk without preconditions, Tillerson's prepared remarks were clear that Washington expects Pyongyang to make concessions in advance of any negotiations.

"They have to come to the table with the view that that want to make a different choice," Tillerson said, adding he "will continue our diplomatic efforts until the first bomb drops."

Pyongyang would have to suspend nuclear and missile test for an undefined period of time before any talks could commence, Nauert said Wednesday. An unnamed White House official told Reuters there were additional preconditions without specifying them.

"The administration is united in insisting that any negotiations with North Korea must wait until the regime fundamentally improves its behavior," the official told Reuters, insisting on anonymity.

"As the secretary of state himself has said, this must include, but is not limited to, no further nuclear or missile tests."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

Comments