White House: No Negotiations with North Korea Until Behavior is Changed

While the U.S. Secretary of State has stated that Washington is ready to talk to North Korea without preconditions, a White House official announced that the U.S. will not engage in any discussions until Pyongyang changes its behavior. According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, December 13, this unnamed official stated, "Given North Korea's recent missile test, it is clear that now is not the time (for negotiations with North Korea)." Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, said on Tuesday that the U.S. is "ready to talk to North Korea at any time they want to talk." These remarks contradict the previous U.S. position that negotiations would not occur until North Korea abandoned its nuclear arsenal. Reuters reports that this White House official did not clarify whether President Trump, who has taken a tougher stance on North Korea than his Secretary of State, allowed Tillerson to adopt a position regarding unconditional talks with North Korea. A day after Tillerson's speech at the Atlantic Council, this official presented a completely different scenario regarding North Korea. The official told Reuters, "All officials in the current U.S. government insist that any negotiations with North Korea will only occur if the regime fundamentally changes its behavior." He added, "As the Secretary of State has previously stated, one of these behavioral changes - and not necessarily the only one - is that there should be no more missile testing (by North Korea)." However, Tillerson did not mention this precondition - that missile tests must stop - during his speech at the Atlantic Council. He stated that it is "very difficult" to be negotiating with North Korea while they are conducting another missile test, and that to achieve constructive negotiations, "a period of silence (a halt to missile testing)" is needed. North Korea has made it clear that it has no particular interest in negotiations until it produces a missile capable of reaching the U.S. with a nuclear warhead. According to Reuters, several experts have stated that North Korea has not yet reached such a stage. Ignoring United Nations Security Council resolutions, North Korea is developing its nuclear and missile programs, which have been criticized by the U.S. and the international community. On December 7, North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, claiming that this missile can reach all U.S. territory and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.