‘We do not seek the collapse of the regime.’
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hopes “to sit and have a dialogue” with North Korea about how to defuse the threat of the regime’s nuclear weapons program, he told reporters Tuesday.
“We have reaffirmed our position towards North Korea, that … we do not seek a regime change, ” Tillerson said during a State Department press briefing. “We do not seek the collapse of the regime.”
Tillerson explained the U. S. is implementing a policy of “peaceful pressure” on dictator Kim Jong Un, who has pressed ahead with the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can deliver a nuclear weapon to the U. S. Tillerson stipulated direct dialogue with the North Koreans should take place with the understanding that the regime will dismantle its nuclear program.
“We are trying to convey to the North Koreans, we are not your enemy, ” Tillerson said. “And we hope at some point, they will begin to understand that and that we would like to sit and have a dialogue with them about the future that will give them the security they seek and the future economic prosperity for North Korea but that will then promote economic prosperity throughout northeast Asia.
