The U. S. is communicating with North Korea about its nuclear program and testing Pyongyang’s appetite for negotiations, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in the first public acknowledgment by a senior administration official of direct contact on the matter. As Bloomberg reports, Tillerson, speaking to reporters on Saturday after meeting Chinese officials in Beijing, insisted that the U. S. would never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.
His remarks offered the clearest glimpse so far into U. S. strategy, and suggested a willingness to get to the negotiating table with Kim Jong Un’s regime — even after President Donald Trump tweeted in August that ‘talking is not the answer!’
‘We are probing, so stay tuned,’ Tillerson said.
‘We can talk to them, we do talk to them directly, through our own channels,’ adding that the U. S. has ‘a couple, three channels open to Pyongyang.’
All of which was ‘good’ news in a time when we need some. However, a few hours later, the State Department commented that…
“North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization.”
This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 30, 2017.
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