Politics
09:43, 16-Oct-2017
Tillerson: US diplomacy with DPRK to continue until 'first bomb drops'
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that President Donald Trump had instructed him to continue diplomatic efforts to calm rising tensions with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), saying "those diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops."
Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Tillerson downplayed messages that President Trump had previously posted on Twitter suggesting Tillerson was wasting his time trying to negotiate with "Little Rocket Man," a derogatory nickname Trump has coined for DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump "has made it clear to me to continue my diplomatic efforts," Tillerson said.
Tillerson's comments Sunday came amid soaring tensions between the US and the DPRK following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a war of words between the two countries' leaders.
US President Donald Trump and DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged a series of threats. /Getty Image
US President Donald Trump and DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged a series of threats. /Getty Image
The DPRK has conducted a series of nuclear tests in recent weeks and launched two missiles over Japan.
Tillerson has been in talks with China to enlist its help on getting the DPRK to back down.
But Trump's recent Twitter messages appeared to undercut Tillerson's efforts, prompting the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker to complain that Trump was publicly castrating Tillerson and hurting diplomatic talks.
Tillerson downplayed those tweets Sunday, telling CNN that Trump and China's President Xi Jinping have an extremely close relationship and that China understands the US position.
"Rest assured that the Chinese are not confused in any way" about the American policy towards the DPRK, he added.
Tillerson's statements were followed by week-long joint Navy drills conducted by the US and South Korea in the waters around the Korean Peninsula.
About 40 Navy ships from both countries, including the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, are taking part in the exercises on the east and west coasts of the peninsula from Oct. 16 to Oct. 20, a spokesman for the South's defense ministry said on Monday.
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Source(s): Reuters