Tillerson had acknowledged on Saturday, after meetings in Beijing with Chinese leaders, that the Trump administration was keeping open direct channels of communications with North Korea and probing the North's willingness to talk. After he left China, his spokeswoman issued a statement saying that North Korean officials "have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization." They include the two nations' U.N. missions, regular exchanges between senior diplomats, and unofficial discussions between North Korean officials and former U.S. officials. Others said the tweets might represent a "good cop-bad cop approach" to North Korea that may or may not be misguided or bear fruit. North Korea has in recent months tested long-range missiles that potentially could reach the U.S., and on Sept. 3 conducted its largest nuclear test explosion to date.

Source: Fox News October 02, 2017 07:18 UTC