Tillerson says U.S. needs 'sustained' North Korea lull to threats before talks can happen

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday there must be a “sustained cessation of North Korea’s threatening behaviour” before talks can occur between Washington and Pyongyang, but he did not specify a length of time for a lull.

”The United States will not allow the regime in Pyongyang to hold the world hostage. We will continue to hold North Korea accountable for its reckless and threatening behavior today and in the future” Rex Tillerson speaking a few feet from UN’s North Korea envoy at Sec. Council

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@KentUNCBC

“Apart from that step, there are no preconditions for talks, nor will we accept pre-conditions from North Korea or others,” Tillerson told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Tillerson also called on China and Russia to increase pressure on North Korea by going beyond the implementation of UN sanctions. The council has ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea since 2006.

Tillerson criticized China over its oil supplies to North Korea and Russia for using North Korean labourers.

He said that continuing to allow North Korean labourers to toil in “slave-like conditions” for wages used to fund nuclear weapons “calls into question Russia’s dedication as a partner for peace.”

Tillerson said that with crude oil still flowing into North Korean refineries, the U.S. also questions China’s commitment to “solving an issue that has serious implications for the security of its own citizens.”