Tillerson: U.S. is in direct contact with North Korea, is ‘probing’ talks

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States is in direct contact with North Korea and is looking into whether Kim Jong Un is open to talks.   The comment, made during a brief trip to China, was the first time the Trump administration acknowledged direct communication with Pyongyang. “We are probing, so stay tuned,” he said. “We ask, ‘Would you like to talk?’ We have lines of communications to Pyongyang. We’re not in a dark situation, a blackout. We have a couple, three, channels open to Pyongyang; we can talk to them; we do talk to them,” he said.Heather Nauert, a State Department spokeswoman, said later in the day that despite the U.S. efforts, “North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization.”

 

Source: Tillerson: U.S. is in direct contact with North Korea, is ‘probing’ talks  – The Washington Post