Tillerson: US still interested in talks with N. Korea

SEOUL - 16 August 2017: The United States continues to be interested in dialogue with North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday, as the two sides appeared to tamp down escalating tensions over the regime's nuclear and missile programs, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Tillerson made clear, however, that the ball is in North Korea's court.

"We continue to be interested in finding a way to get to a dialogue but that's up to him," he told reporters at the State Department, referring to the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, after announcing the release of a new religious freedom report.

He did not go into details, but the secretary has previously said the North could signal a willingness to hold talks on its denuclearization by stopping missile tests.