Trump's stand on North Korea unchanged: White House

Washington DC [United States], Dec 13 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump's stand on North Korea remained unchanged, despite Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's remark on having a possibility of talks with Pyongyang.

President Trump's views had come after Tillerson, earlier in the day, said that the US diplomatic community was ready to meet with North Korean leaders for diplomatic discussions "without precondition."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement: "The President's views on North Korea have not changed."

"North Korea is acting in an unsafe way not only toward Japan, China, and South Korea, but the entire world. North Korea's actions are not good for anyone and certainly not good for North Korea," she added.

Tillerson in his comments at an Atlantic Council event also said that President Trump "is very realistic about that as well."

He further emphasised that it is "not realistic" to expect North Korea to stop its nuclear programme for talks with the US.

Two nations could "at least sit down and see each other face-to-face and then we can begin to lay out a map, a roadmap of what we might be willing to work towards." Tillerson said.

Last week, White House national security adviser HR McMaster said the potential for war with North Korea is growing each day due to its nuclear programme.

McMaster said that the communist nation has become "the greatest immediate threat to the United States".

While addressing the audience at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, he said: "I think it's increasing every day, which means that we are in a race, really, we are in a race to be able to solve this problem," reported CNN.

McMaster made the statement after he was asked if the chance of war had increased with North Korea after the country launched an intercontinental ballistic missile.

He, however, assured that President Trump is committed to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI