U.S. And North Korean Dilomats Are Engaged In Direct Talks

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun (R) answers questions from reporters following meeting with Japan and South Korea chief nuclear negotiators to talk about North Korean issues at the Iikura guest house in Tokyo, Japan April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Yamanaka/Pool/File Photo

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. pursues direct diplomacy with North Korea despite Trump rejection

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is quietly pursuing direct diplomacy with North Korea, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s public assertion that such talks are a waste of time.

Using the so-called “New York channel,” Joseph Yun, U.S. negotiator with North Korea, has been in contact with diplomats at Pyongyang’s United Nations mission, the official said, at a time when an exchange of bellicose insults between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fueled fears of military conflict.

While U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Oct. 17 said he would continue “diplomatic efforts ... until the first bomb drops,” the official’s comments were the clearest sign the United States was directly discussing issues beyond the release of American prisoners, despite Trump having dismissed direct talks as pointless.

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WNU Editor: Reuters is calling this an exclusive .... but this is nothing more but a "back-channel" for U.S. and North Korean officials to meet .... something that happens everyday at the United Nations building in New York City. And as to the question .... is this a waste of time? If you expect results .... yes .... because these meetings rarely accomplish anything. So why have a back channel? It is to maintain communications in the event that if things do go bad, messages can still be exchanged outside of the normal lines of communication.