Tillerson: U.S. Ready to Talk to North Korea

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has offered to begin engaging in direct talks with North Korea—without pre-conditions. “Let’s just meet,” Tillerson said in a speech on Tuesday. The new position backs away from what has long been a demand from the U.S.—that Pyongyang must understand that giving up its nuclear arsenal would be a large part of negotiations. It was not clear on Wednesday whether the White House had given approval for Tillerson’s 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 certainly not good for North Korea.”