Politics
08:43, 02-Oct-2017
Trump: Negotiating with DPRK ‘a waste of time'
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US President Donald Trump said negotiating with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its nuclear program would be a waste of time Sunday after it emerged that Washington had channels of contact with Pyongyang.
"I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to the DPRK’s leader Kim Jong Un.
US President Donald Trump's Twitter screenshot.
US President Donald Trump's Twitter screenshot.
Speaking Saturday after a day of talks with China's President Xi Jinping and top diplomats, Tillerson said that US officials are in touch with Pyongyang despite an escalating war of words between Trump and Kim and the imposition of US-led sanctions.
Asked how he could know whether the DPRK would even contemplate coming to the table, Tillerson told reporters: "We are probing, so stay tuned."
But later, after the secretary began his flight home, the State Department issued a statement to clarify that the DPRK has "shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization."
US President Donald Trump's Twitter screenshot.
US President Donald Trump's Twitter screenshot.
"Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!"
And on Sunday, the department's spokeswoman Heather Nauert and Tillerson's chief public affairs adviser R.C. Hammond launched their own series of tweets in what appeared to be an attempt to harmonize the mixed messages.
Nauert wrote "Diplomatic channels are open for Kim Jong Un for now. They won't be open forever."
US department's spokeswoman Heather Nauert's Twitter screenshot.
US department's spokeswoman Heather Nauert's Twitter screenshot.
Hammond, meanwhile, said Trump's tweets should be interpreted not as a rebuke to Tillerson but as a message to Kim that time is running out for a diplomatic solution.
"Channels have been open for months. They've been unused and cooling for months," he said in one tweet.
"The president just sent a clear message to the DPRK: show up at the diplomatic table before the invitation gets cold," he added in another.
Source(s): AFP