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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a surprise appearance at a press briefing at the State Department in Washington DC

With tensions increasing on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea conducted two test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the US‘s top diplomat publicly stated that the US is leaving open the door for dialogue with North Korea. While the remarks seem to have been primarily aimed at containing the situation and clearing up confusion about the internal message, they are notable since the top diplomats from North Korea and the US will both be attending the ASEAN Regional Forum, which will be held next week in Manila, the Philippines.

“We’re trying to convey to the North Koreans we are not your enemy, we are not your threat,” Tillerson said during a press conference at the office of the State Department in Washington on Aug. 1. “At some point,” he continued, “we would like to sit and have a dialogue with them about the future that will give them the security they seek and the future economic prosperity for North Korea.”

“We do not seek a regime change; we do not seek the collapse of the regime; we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula; we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel,” Tillerson emphasized. Tillerson had expounded these four principles during a speech to State Department employees on May 3.

“We initiated a sustained and continued intensified campaign on what I like to call peaceful pressure [on North Korea], because the options available to us [. . .] are limited,” Tillerson said as he explained why the US was focusing on sanctions against North Korea rather than military action.

“We certainly don’t blame the Chinese for the situation in North Korea,” Tillerson said, noting that the US has been asking China “to use that influence with North Korea to create the conditions where we can have a productive dialogue.” “We don’t think having a dialogue where the North Koreans come to the table assuming they‘re going to maintain their nuclear weapons is productive,” he said, reiterating the US position that the aim of dialogue with North Korea is denuclearization.

The remarks by Tillerson, who has now been in office for six months, had not been previously announced by the State Department, making his appearance at the briefing something of a surprise. This suggests that Tillerson, who is notoriously uncomfortable with exposure to the media, had a special reason for making these remarks.

Tillerson’s remarks were consistent in tenor with the North Korean policy confirmed and announced by the Trump administration in late April and early May. Even so, it is telling that Tillerson sent a message of dialogue after North Korea tested two ICBMs, especially given the hawkish positions toward North Korea that are being voiced in the US.

First, Tillerson‘s remarks appear to reflect concerns that an unexpected clash could occur if nothing is done about the tensions that are rising as North Korea launches missiles and South Korea and the US respond with shows of force. Following North Korea’s ICBM test, there have even been reports about unusual activity by North Korean submarines. Amid speculation about North Korea taking additional steps to ratchet up tensions, the US may have concluded that it was necessary to calm things down.

Second, amid a volley of comments by the Trump administration that, regardless of their actual intention, could be taken to mean regime change in North Korea or a preemptive strike against the North, Tillerson apparently wanted to put the State Department back in control of the message.

Third, Tillerson strove to refrain from making inflammatory remarks about China. Given the ongoing discussion at the UN Security Council about a sanctions resolution against North Korea, this was presumably aimed at minimizing conflict and offering a conciliatory gesture to secure China’s cooperation.

It remains to be seen whether Tillerson’s remarks will be the catalyst for bringing about a change. It is promising that Tillerson expressed the willingness to engage in dialogue with such speed, just five days after North Korea’s missile launch. Given that North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho will be attending the ASEAN Regional Forum next week, the possibility of a meeting between the top diplomats of North Korea and the US cannot be ruled out.

The fact that leading media in the US are calling for direct dialogue between North Korea and the US should also strengthen the State Department’s position. “Mr. Trump needs to face the reality that he cannot solve this crisis by proxy [China],” the New York Times opined in an editorial in its Aug. 1 edition. “Mr. Trump should drop the bluster and dispatch Secretary of State Rex Tillerson or some other high-level envoy to Pyongyang to explore whether there is any basis for negotiations.” The newspaper also emphasized that “talks should begin without preconditions.”

“Even as Trump ratchets up the pressure, he should quietly urge China to take the lead in a diplomatic solution,” columnist David Ignatius wrote in the Washington Post, calling for cooperation with China rather than conflict.

But remarks by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders show that there is still some confusion about the message. During the regular press briefing at the White House on Aug. 1 shortly after Tillerson’s briefing, Sanders said that the US is “keeping all options on the table” to stop North Korea’s nuclear program and missile provocations. It has long been noted by diplomatic observers in Washington that the State Department and the White House are not always on the same page.

Another critical factor for future developments is how loosely South Korea and the US define the conditions that will lead from “maximum pressure” on North Korea to “engagement,” or in other words negotiations.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]