U.S. Secretary of State: North Korea Must Show It Deserves Negotiation

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, said on Friday at a special meeting of foreign ministers of UN Security Council member states regarding North Korea that the country with nuclear weapons must first show that it deserves to negotiate. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Tillerson stated on Friday, December 15, at the special meeting of foreign ministers of UN Security Council member states: "North Korea must try to gain permission to return to the negotiating table." He added: "Pressure on North Korea must continue and will continue until this country is free of nuclear weapons. At that point, we will keep our communication channels open." The Associated Press described the U.S. Secretary of State's remarks as a retreat from his previous positions regarding unconditional dialogue with North Korea, although Reuters reported after the Security Council meeting that Mr. Tillerson still believes in unconditional dialogue with North Korea. Three days prior to these remarks, the Secretary of State stated that Washington is ready to negotiate with North Korea whenever it wishes. However, these statements provoked reactions from some White House officials, with Reuters quoting these officials, without naming them, stating that there will be no negotiations until Pyongyang changes its behavior. This has increased speculation about the severity of potential disagreements between President Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson, with Newsweek reporting on Friday that Mr. Tillerson's position regarding North Korea could cause him trouble. The Associated Press writes that the text that Rex Tillerson was supposed to read at the Security Council stated that North Korea must stop its threatening behavior for negotiations to resume, but the U.S. Secretary of State made changes to this text in his speech. In this speech, Mr. Tillerson also urged China and Russia to go beyond the economic sanctions of the Security Council and to exert more pressure on North Korea to resolve this crisis. He pointed out that when Russia continues to allow North Korean workers to work under conditions "like slaves" and their wages are spent on nuclear weapons, Russia's goodwill for establishing peace is called into question. Mr. Tillerson also criticized China's role in exporting oil to North Korea, stating that it raises questions for the U.S. about whether it is committed to its obligations to resolve this issue. In this context, Trump has sought Putin's help to resolve the North Korean issue, and the White House announced a phone conversation between Trump and Putin about the North Korean crisis. Lavrov stated that the failure of the JCPOA undermines efforts to control North Korea. The White House reiterated that there will be no negotiations until North Korea changes its behavior. Tillerson announced the U.S. readiness for unconditional negotiations with North Korea.