Conflicting signals about whether the U.S. is prepared to resume talks with North Korea raise questions about what conditions, if any, might be imposed and even how unified the administration of President Donald Trump really is on undertaking this kind of initiative.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested during remarks this week at the Atlantic Council that the United States may be willing to engage in talks with North Korea without preconditions, something the Trump administration had not said previously. The pronouncement indicated a potential shift in policy.
But then when White House officials were asked about Tillerson’s remarks, the response from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was that “the President’s views on North Korea have not changed.”
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, in remarks at the Jamestown Foundation Wednesday night, disputed reporting of Tillerson’s remarks. And State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, in a tweet, seemed to squelch the idea that the U.S. and North Korea could, in Tillerson's words, "just meet."
Key statements by Tillerson:
- “We’re ready to talk anytime North Korea would like to talk, and we’re ready to have the first meeting without precondition. Let’s just meet and let’s – we can talk about the weather if you want.”
- “It’s not realistic to say we’re only going to talk if you come to the table ready to give up your [nuclear] program. [The North Koreans] have too much invested in it. And the President is very realistic about that as well.”
- “If there was any condition at all to this, it’s that, look, it’s going to be tough to talk if in the middle of our talks, you decide to test another device...We’ve got to have a period of quiet or it’s going to be very difficult to have productive discussions. And so we continue to indicate to them we need a period of quiet.”
Rebuttals from the Trump administration:
- National security adviser H.R. McMaster: “…when [Tillerson] said there will be no preconditions, what that means is, we're not going to alleviate, we're not going to relieve any pressure on North Korea or give in to any demands they might make for payoffs.”
- State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert:"Our policy on #DPRK has not changed. Diplomacy is our top priority through our maximum pressure campaign. We remain open to dialogue when North Korea is willing to conduct a serious & credible dialogue on the peaceful denuclearization, but that time is not now."
Are “unconditional talks” the right move? And is Tillerson’s request for a “period of quiet” a precondition?
We asked Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, former special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea. The six-party talks were conducted among the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and North and South Korea, but they stalled in 2008. DeTrani says:
- “I interpreted Secretary Tillerson’s comments in a very positive way. I think this is the right overture to make to North Korea at this time: unconditional talks. Previously, we conditioned our willingness to talk to North Korea—if they would commit to denuclearization…then we would sit down. As Tillerson said, that’s a non-starter.”
- “North Korea’s invested too much in their nuclear weapons program. They’re just not going to give it up that easily. Ultimately, we’re all looking for comprehensive, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement of all their programs. But it’s not going to happen just because we ask them to do it.”
Are the messages offered by Tillerson and the White House contradictory?
DeTrani:
- “Our policy really hasn’t changed. I think Tillerson’s position is in line with the president’s on our ultimate goal. Tillerson is saying we’re trying diplomacy, and the president is saying diplomacy hasn’t worked and it’s probably not going to work. And Tillerson says, my job is to use diplomacy, and if I fail at this, then over to Secretary [of Defense James] Mattis, but I’m giving it a best shot.”
However, The New York Times reports that White House officials “were alarmed” by Tillerson’s remarks, “fearing that they would sow confusion among allies after Mr. Trump rallied them behind a policy of ‘maximum pressure.’”
It seems Trump and Tillerson may have different definitions of what it means to give diplomacy a “best shot.”
Brian Garrett-Glaser is the content manager at The Cipher Brief. Follow him on Twitter @bgarrettglaser.
Hear more of our conversation with Ambassador Joseph DeTrani on tomorrow’s episode of The Cipher Brief Daily Podcast. Listen on our website, or get it from iTunes.
