Rex Tillerson Talks Détente With North Korea, Rocket Man Agrees

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled that the United States is preparet to negotiate with North Korea without preconditions – aside from one; no more nuclear or missile tests for an undetermined “quiet period.”

“Let’s just meet. We can talk about the weather if you want,” Tillerson told an audience at the Atlantic Council in Washington. “We can talk about whether it’s going to be a square table or a round table if that’s what you’re excited about.”

USG Jeffrey Feltman calls his visit to #NorthKorea the first in-depth political exchange of views between the UN and Pyongyang in almost 8 years. He says the officials he met, including the FM & vice-FM, agreed this ''was only a beginning'' pic.twitter.com/7rtWKo6YrJ

— Melissa Kent (@KentUNCBC) December 13, 2017

In response, North Korea signaled back on Tuesday evening, stating:

• N.Korea agrees “it is important to avoid war. “
• We have left the door open for negotiations.
• N.Korea did not offer any type of commitment to talks.

Tillerson said earlier in the day that the Trump administration is pleased with the “progress” made in imposing “extreme” sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang, which includes heightened UN sanctions along with pressure from China. Tillerson said that more than 22 countries have recalled diplomats from North Korea.

The timing of Tillerson’s potential overture is interesting – not only does it come two weeks after a missile launch that experts confirmed could reach much of the North American continent, but at a time when South Korea is feverishly preparing to host the upcoming Winter Olympic games in February 2018.

Especially worrisome is that Pyongyang’s recent November 28th ICBM launch was reported to have flown for 50 minutes on a very high trajectory reaching 4,500 km above the earth (more than ten times higher than the orbit of Nasa’s International Space Station) before coming down nearly 1,000 km from the launch site off the west coast of Japan. The test prompted the US Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, to reiterate that Kim Jong Un’s provocative actions constitute “the biggest threat to humankind right now.”

Ratcheting up

In response to North Korea’s nuclear overtures, the US decided to whip its dick out and conduct military exercises with allies in the region such as Japan. While Russia cautioned the US to be careful and exhibit restraint with the exercises, South Korea was the loudest voice requesting the United States tone down the drills.

This comes amidst talk of what’s being called a “freeze-for-freeze” deal in which the North would agree to halt all missile launches and nuclear tests and in return the US would suspend all military exercises in the area. This is something both Moscow and Beijing are currently pushing hard for, and Tillerson’s remarks before the Atlantic Council today could signal that the White House is seriously considering the plan.

At minimum, Tillerson’s comments leave the door open to a diplomatic solution – and North Korea’s response was highly encouraging. No word on whether or not special agent Dennis Rodman was involved.

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