Tillerson disclosed the United States had been talking to China about how to secure North Korea’s nuclear weapons in the event of a collapse of the government in Pyongyang. He said Beijing had been given assurances that if U.S. forces had to cross into North Korea they would pull back across the border into the South.
However, he made clear that the United States wants to resolve the North Korea standoff through peaceful diplomacy and, in terms far more tempered than Trump’s recent threats against Pyongyang, offered to hold exploratory talks.
In the meantime, China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it welcomed all efforts to ease tension on the Korean peninsula after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions.
Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comment at a daily news briefing in the Chinese capital.
