Tillerson says U.S. ready to talk with DPRK without pre-conditions

In an apparent change of policy, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has offered to begin talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) without preconditions.

“Let’s just meet,” Tillerson said in a speech to Washington think tank the Atlantic Council on Tuesday.

The offer appeared to back away from US demands that the DPRK must first accept that any negotiations would have to be based on the country's denuclearization.

It comes amid tough sanctions on Pyongyang and growing tensions over its nuclear weapons program, as well as harsh rhetoric between the two sides.

The new message stands in contrast to President Donald Trump’s warnings that talks have failed and that Tillerson was wasting his time in seeking to use diplomatic channels with the DPRK.

Tensions have flared anew since the Asian nation said it had successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile last month in what it called a “breakthrough” that put the US mainland within range.

While reiterating Washington’s long-standing position that it cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed DPRK, Tillerson said the United States was “ready to talk any time they’re ready to talk,” but that Pyongyang must come to the table willing to make choices to change its course.

“We can talk about the weather if you want. We can talk about whether it’s going to be a square table or a round table,” he said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the US-DPRK relationship during a forum at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday.

“Then we can begin to lay out a map, a road map, of what we might be willing to work toward,” Tillerson said, suggesting that any initial contacts would be about setting the ground rules for formal negotiations.

It was not immediately clear whether Tillerson, whose influence has appeared to wane within the administration, had Trump’s full support to seek such a diplomatic opening.

The DPRK, 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 US mainland with a nuclear-tipped missile, something some experts say it has still not achieved.

“We’re ready to have the first meeting without preconditions,” Tillerson said at the Atlantic Council.

“It’s not realistic to say we’re 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. The president is very realistic about that as well.”

Tillerson also said that the United States was working to tighten enforcement of international sanctions against the DPRK, especially further measures that China can apply, and that Washington had a full menu of military options if such a response is needed.

He said the United States has had conversations with China about how DPRK nuclear weapons might be secured in a crisis and has assured Beijing that if US forces had to cross into the DPRK they would return to South Korea.

But he made clear that the United States wants to resolve the DPRK standoff through peaceful diplomacy.

(REUTERS&CGTN)