Tillerson backs off ‘unconditional’ North Korea talks

WASHINGTON — America’s top diplomat stepped back Friday from his offer of unconditional talks with North Korea, telling world powers the nuclear-armed nation must earn the right to negotiate with the United States.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s declaration before the U.N. Security Council marked a reversal after he proposed discussions with Pyongyang without preconditions earlier this week. That overture was almost immediately rebutted by White House officials.

“North Korea must earn its way back to the table,” Tillerson told the foreign ministers. “The pressure campaign must and will continue until denuclearization is achieved. We will in the meantime keep our channels of communication open.”

So far, U.s.-led sanctions on North Korea and diplomatic isolation haven’t compelled Kim Jong Un’s government to stop its nuclear and missile tests, or to seek negotiations.

North Korea’s latest missile test, which U.S. experts say indicated an increasing technological sophistication, did not demonstrate an imminent threat of nuclear attack on the United States, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday. “No, not yet,” Mattis said. “It has not yet shown to be a capable threat against us right now.”

Asked Friday if he supported unconditional talks, Trump did not answer directly.

“Well, we’re going to see what happens with North Korea. We have a lot of support. There are a lot of nations that agree with us — almost everybody,” Trump told reporters. He credited China with helping on pressuring North Korea, while Russia was not.

“We’d like to have Russia’s help — very important,” Trump said.