The task of bridging the gap between Kim Jong-un and President Trump has fallen largely to the secretary of state. But neither side seems interested.
TOKYO — For those worried about a nuclear war between North Korea and the United States, the weekend disclosure by Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson that the two nations were in direct communication was a rare glimmer of hope that a diplomatic resolution to the standoff might be possible.
But President Trump’s remarkable public rebuke of Mr. Tillerson’s efforts — he said the nation’s top diplomat was “wasting his time” — was a sharp reminder of how difficult it will be for the two sides to reach an agreement even if they begin serious talks.
Apart from conflicting messages from President Trump and his aides about their willingness to enter negotiations, the hurdles to a meaningful dialogue with North Korea are high, and it will be even more difficult to reach a deal with the North than it was with Iran, analysts said.
The key difference, of course, is that North Korea has already developed nuclear weapons, even if it has not yet demonstrated that it can hit the United States with one.
The United States has repeatedly said it is not willing to start negotiations unless North Korea agrees in advance that the goal should be the elimination of its nuclear arsenal. North Korea appears determined to press ahead until it can mount a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the United States.
“I think the problem we have right now is no one wants to blink or look weak in any way,” said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif. She added: “The positions of the United States and North Korea are extremely far apart.”
“If it were easy,” she said, “we would have done it already.”
Bridging that gap has fallen largely to Mr. Tillerson, a former chief executive of the oil giant Exxon Mobil, with no experience in diplomatic negotiations or with North Korea in particular. He must contend not only with the North’s brash 33-year-old leader, Kim Jong-un, but also an American president prone to issuing impromptu threats.
Speaking in Beijing on Saturday, Mr. Tillerson said he was trying to cool the bellicose rhetoric over the standoff but skirted any direct criticism of Mr. Trump. “I think everyone would like for it to calm down,” he said.
The president undercut Mr. Tillerson the next day, belittling his efforts to start a dialogue.
