LOC11:16
08:16 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned late Tuesday that military action may be taken if North Korea does not engage in talks over abandoning its nuclear weapons program.
Speaking at a news conference alongside Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Tillerson stressed that the US administration seeks a diplomatic resolution in the nuclear standoff, but he said North Korea has yet to show itself to be a "credible negotiating partner."
Tillerson declined to comment on whether Washington is considering limited military action against Pyongyang, in response to reports that some in the Trump administration are pushing for military action to give the North a "bloody nose."
Asked whether the US should be concerned about the possibility of war, Tillerson replied "We all need to be very sober and clear-eyed about the current situation, as North Korea has continued to make significant advances in both its nuclear weapons, the lethality of those weapons, as demonstrated by their last thermonuclear test, as well as the continued progress they've made in their intercontinental ballistic missile systems."
He added, "We have to recognize that that threat is growing. And if North Korea does not choose the path of engagement, discussion, negotiation, then they themselves will trigger an option. We're at a very tenuous stage in terms of how far North Korea has taken their program."
His comments came after a day of closed-door talks with foreign ministers and senior diplomats from 20 countries about strategizing ways to halt North Korea's nuclear ambitions and force it to engage in diplomatic talks. Tillerson said such talks would require a "sustained cessation" of threatening behavior. (end)
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