Tillerson: Need 'sustained' North Korea lull before talks can happen

Thomson Reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday there must be a "sustained cessation of North Korea's threatening behavior" before talks can occur between Washington and Pyongyang, but he did not specify a length of time for a lull.

"Apart from that step, there are no preconditions for talks, nor will we accept pre-conditions from North Korea or others," Tillerson told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Tillerson also called on China and Russia to increase pressure on North Korea by going beyond the implementation of U.N. sanctions. The Security Council has ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea since 2006.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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