State Department: US policy on North Korea 'has not changed'

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that its policy on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) remains unchanged and it is not the right time to start dialogue with Pyongyang, following remarks by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that Washington is ready to talk without prior conditions.


"The secretary was not creating a new policy, our policy remains exactly the same as it was," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"We remain open to dialogue when North Korea (the DPRK) is willing to conduct a credible dialogue on the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," she said, adding "clearly the time is not right now" and that the State Department is "on the same page" as the White House on the issue.

Tillerson said on Tuesday that the US is ready to have the first meeting with the DPRK without precondition, which was interpreted as a softening of the US stance on Pyongyang.
 [china.org.cn]
 14/12/17
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• Tillerson: US willing to talk with DPRK 'without precondition'