Apparently conceding on a vital demand by the United States that North Korea must agree that any negotiations will necessarily involve nuclear disarmament, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday that the US is willing to enter talks with the rogue nation without that caveat.
Tillerson did reemphasize that the White House was still focused on North Korea giving up its nuclear capability, but that the US was “ready to talk any time they’re ready to talk.”
It’s not clear whether the White House actually approved that speech, since a subsequent statement issued was fairly ambiguous on that.
As it stands there are now three positions:
The first is Trump’s opinion that Tillerson was “wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” in derogatory reference to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. We’ll put that aside for now, but the United States’ official position is that no talks will be entertained without a commitment from North Korea that such talks will focus on giving up its nuclear arsenal.
The second is Kim Jong Un’s stand that North Korea will not enter negotiations until it has full nuclear weapons capability. That may have already happened after last month’s announcement of successful long-range ICBM testing, although some experts disagree.
The third is now Tillerson’s statement saying:
“We’re ready to have the first meeting without pre-conditions. It’s not realistic to say we’re only going to talk if you come to the table ready to give up your program. They have too much invested in it. The president is very realistic about that as well.”
Though there might appear to be a conflict of interest in the two nations’ official positions, that’s not necessarily the case.
The reality is that North Korea is saying that it won’t talk until it has somewhat of an equal nuclear standing with the US, while the US says we’ll only talk when you’re willing to give up that standing.
Now that North Korea is close to achieving its objective (although it claims that it already has), it could open a path for dialogue. Tillerson’s statement may well be a catalyst that makes this happen, even though it seems like he’s backing up on the Trump administration’s original stand.
Reading between the lines, what Tillerson has done is simply open the door to dialogue just a little wider, effectively saying “come in, let’s talk, and then put together a plan for the future.”
Though North Korea might not see it that way, Tillerson’s move may well have edged the US closer to a peaceable solution to the problem in the region.
And any solution that does not involve military action is welcome at this point, not only by the global community but also to those with deeper interests, such as China and South Korea.
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