U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he told his top diplomat to stop "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Trump made the comment a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged Washington is directly communicating with Pyongyang through multiple channels.
"I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump said in a Twitter post, using his nickname for Kim.
"Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!" he said, without elaborating.
(Korea Media)
Trump said his predecessors Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all "failed" in rolling back North Korea's nuclear and missile programs through negotiations.
"Being nice to Rocket Man hasn't worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed, and Obama failed," he said, in reference to Washington's past negotiations with Kim under his predecessors. "I won't fail."
Meanwhile, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert tweeted Sunday that diplomatic channels are open for Kim "for now," but that "they won't be open forever."
In defiance of international condemnation and pressure, North Korea continues missile and nuclear weapons tests in its pursuit of a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike as far away as the United States.
The Trump administration says it is keeping all options -- including military ones -- on the table in dealing with North Korea, or whose formal name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"DPRK will not obtain a nuclear capability. Whether through diplomacy or force is up to the regime," Nauert wrote.
North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization, Nauert said in a statement issued Saturday.
While Pyongyang has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean, there is speculation that it may conduct yet another provocative act around the founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Oct. 10, or possibly when Beijing convenes a congress of the ruling Communist Party of China on Oct. 18.
