White House Says ‘Now Is Not The Time To Talk’ To North Korea
- 7 years ago
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has dismissed the idea that the U.S. is open to communicating with North Korea over its missile program.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has dismissed the idea that the U.S. is open to communicating with North Korea over its missile program.
"We've been clear that now is not the time to talk. The only conversations that have taken place, or that would, would be on bringing back Americans who have been detained….Beyond that, there will be no conversations with North Korea at this time,” she said, in part, during a press briefing Monday.
Sanders’ comment was in response to a reporter asking about tweets President Trump posted Sunday.
“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump wrote in his tweets. "Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!”
A day prior, Tillerson had told reporters in Beijing that the U.S. is in direct communication with North Korea.
“We have lines of communications to Pyongyang. We're not in a dark situation or a blackout. We have a couple of direct channels to Pyongyang. We can talk to them. We do talk to them. Directly, through our own channels,” Tillerson said.
According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump was privately described by advisers as furious at Mr. Tillerson for contradicting the president’s public position that now is not the time for talks.”
When a reporter pressed Sanders on Monday about the president’s seemingly closed position on diplomacy, the press secretary said, “There's a difference between talking and putting diplomatic pressure."
"We still strongly support putting diplomatic pressure on North Korea, which we're continuing to do," Sanders added. "But now is not the time simply to have conversations with North Korea.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has dismissed the idea that the U.S. is open to communicating with North Korea over its missile program.
"We've been clear that now is not the time to talk. The only conversations that have taken place, or that would, would be on bringing back Americans who have been detained….Beyond that, there will be no conversations with North Korea at this time,” she said, in part, during a press briefing Monday.
Sanders’ comment was in response to a reporter asking about tweets President Trump posted Sunday.
“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump wrote in his tweets. "Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!”
A day prior, Tillerson had told reporters in Beijing that the U.S. is in direct communication with North Korea.
“We have lines of communications to Pyongyang. We're not in a dark situation or a blackout. We have a couple of direct channels to Pyongyang. We can talk to them. We do talk to them. Directly, through our own channels,” Tillerson said.
According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump was privately described by advisers as furious at Mr. Tillerson for contradicting the president’s public position that now is not the time for talks.”
When a reporter pressed Sanders on Monday about the president’s seemingly closed position on diplomacy, the press secretary said, “There's a difference between talking and putting diplomatic pressure."
"We still strongly support putting diplomatic pressure on North Korea, which we're continuing to do," Sanders added. "But now is not the time simply to have conversations with North Korea.”