Commenting on statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin who called on the United States to use common sense in the settlement of the crisis on the Korean peninsula, a US Department of State official told Sputnik that diplomatic options to resolve the North Korea issue continue to be on the table.
“As the Secretary [of State Rex Tillerson] has said, diplomatic options remain viable and open,” the official stated. “The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful path to denuclearization and to ending belligerent actions by North Korea, but the onus is on North Korea to show it is interested in a serious dialogue.”
Speaking about the possibility of cooperation between Russia and the United States on settling the crisis on the Korean peninsula, Putin referred to a recent statement by Tillerson that Washington was ready for direct talks with Pyongyang without preconditions.
Putin called Tillerson’s statement “a very good signal” that shows the US authorities are starting to understand realities, and expressed hope that the same is happening in the US intelligence community and the Defense Department.
“If the United States proceeds with its foreign policy using common sense, this may become a pledge of cooperation, including on the issue of North Korea,” Putin said and appealed for caution on the issue.
The Russian president also urged both the United States and North Korea to stop escalating the existing tensions.
On Wednesday, the US State Department said it was willing to enter negotiations with the North Korean government, but added that right now is not the right time to engage in talks.
Thailand has offered the United States to assist in bringing North Korea to the negotiating table, local media reported Friday in the wake of a meeting between a US special envoy and a Thai security chief.
The situation on the Korean peninsula has grown particularly tense over the last year as Pyongyang has continued to conduct ballistic missile and nuclear tests. The United States and its allies have in turn amassed troops and military equipment in close proximity to North Korea in the region and engaged in exercises.