US secretary of state says North Korea must stop ‘threatening behaviour’ before talks with Washington can resume.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said North Korea must stop its « threatening behaviour » before diplomatic talks between the two countries can resume.
Tillerson, speaking at the United Nations Security Council in New York on Friday, accused North Korean leader Kim Jong-un of conducting « unlawful missile launches and testing activities ».
« A sustained cessation of North Korea’s threatening behaviour must occur before talks can begin, » he said, adding: » North Korea must earn its way back to the table. »
Tillerson had declared the US ready to engage with Pyongyang » without precondition « , at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on December 12.
In response to Tillerson’s comments, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders reiterated that Trump’s views on North Korea remain unchanged.
« North Korea is acting in an unsafe way… North Korea’s actions are not good for anyone and certainly not good for North Korea, » she said in a statement to reporters later on December 12.
But, according to Tillerson, the state department and US president were unified in their approach to dealing with the North Korean leader.
« The President’s policy on North Korea is quite clear, and there is no daylight at all between the president’s policy and the pursuit of that policy, » he said.
