US ready for talks with North Korea without preconditions: Tillerson

Washington, December 13

The US is ready to talk to North Korea over its nuclear disarmament without preconditions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said amid North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s assertion to make his country the “world’s strongest nuclear power”.

The offer to North Korea comes amid crippling sanctions on the country and just two weeks after another provocative intercontinental ballistic missile test by the reclusive nation. It also marks a shift from Tillerson’s own previous comments that the US would not negotiate with North Korea and that it would only talk once the regime was ready to address its denuclearisation.

“We’ve said from the diplomatic side we’re ready to talk anytime North Korea would like to talk, and we’re ready to have the first meeting without precondition. Let’s just meet,” Tillerson said.

He was speaking on ‘Meeting the Foreign Policy Challenges of 2017 and Beyond’ organised by the 2017 Atlantic Council- Korea Foundation Forum. “And then we can begin to lay out a map, a roadmap of what we might be willing to work towards,” he said. The offer stands in contrast to President Donald Trump’s warnings that talks have failed and that Tillerson was wasting his time. 

No negotiations can be held with North Korea until it improves its behavior, a White House official said on Wednesday, raising questions about Tillerson's offer.  The White House has declined to say whether Trump gave approval for the overture. — Agencies