Rex Tillerson offers to talk to North Korea without any preconditions
Washington/Seoul — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered to begin direct talks with North Korea without preconditions, backing away from a key US demand that Pyongyang must first accept that giving up its nuclear arsenal would be part of any negotiations. Tillerson’s new diplomatic overture comes nearly two weeks after North Korea said it had successfully tested a breakthrough intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that put the entire US mainland within range of its nuclear weapons. "Let’s just meet," Tillerson said in a speech to Washington’s Atlantic Council think-tank on Tuesday. The White House later issued an ambiguous statement that left unclear whether President Donald Trump — who has said Tillerson is wasting his time pursuing dialogue with North Korea — had given his approval for the speech. "The president’s views on North Korea have not changed," the White House said. "North Korea is acting in an unsafe way…. North Korea’s actions are not good for anyone and certa...
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