Trump does not think now is time to negotiate with North Korea

WASHINGTON - 1 October 2017: President Donald Trump does not believe now is the time to negotiate with North Korea, given Pyongyang's provocations, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday.

The official, who made the comments when asked for clarification about tweets Trump sent on Sunday about North Korea, also said any diplomatic channels that exist between Washington and Pyongyang are aimed at securing the return of Americans detained by North Korea.

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during a trip to China that the United States had lines of communication open with North Korea on its nuclear and missile programs but that Pyongyang had shown no interest in dialogue.

Trump said he told Tillerson that he was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom the U.S. president referred to as "Little Rocket Man."