US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking before the UN Security Council, has threatened to suspend diplomatic relations and impose additional sanctions affecting third parties with North Korea unless Pyongyang abandons its nuclear weapons program. Secretary of State Tillerson said on Friday that for years North Korea has dictated the terms of its “dangerous course of action and it’s time for us to retake control of the situation.”
Tillerson said that for too long the international community has been reactive and the “policy of strategic patience is over, additional patience will only lead to a nuclear North Korea.” Tillerson said since 1995 the US has provided $1.3 billion in aid to North Korea, and the US looks forward to renewing its contributions, but that Pyongyang must dismantle its nuclear weapons program if it wants to achieve international respect. Tillerson said North Korea must take “concrete steps” towards dismantling nuclear weapons “before we can being talks.” READ MORE
