--- title: Rex Tillerson: U.S. Wants North Korea Talks at 'Some Point' description: The U.S. does not seek to topple the North Korean government and would like dialogue with Pyongyang at some point, Rex Tillerson said canonical: https://time.com/4883555/rex-tillerson-north-korea-dialogue/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-02T05:39:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:26:46.880Z article:section: Politics og:title: Tillerson Says U.S. Wants North Korea Talks at 'Some Point' og:description: "We are not your enemy." og:url: https://time.com/4883555/rex-tillerson-north-korea-dialogue/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4fe5638d1d009faf/6988d81322fb85c153e22384/gettyimages-825293016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4325 og:image:height: 2433 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TILLERSON og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tillerson Says U.S. Wants North Korea Talks at 'Some Point' twitter:description: "We are not your enemy." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4fe5638d1d009faf/6988d81322fb85c153e22384/gettyimages-825293016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rex Tillerson Says the U.S. Wants Dialogue With North Korea at 'Some Point' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=95b5f869-1940-43e1-a9e7-7db3862d3b68&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Rex Tillerson Says the U.S. Wants Dialogue With North Korea at 'Some Point' [Watch (HLS stream): Rex Tillerson Says the U.S. Wants Dialogue With North Korea at 'Some Point'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bwn0yPF6.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2017-08-02. The U.S. does not seek to topple the North Korean government and would like dialogue with Pyongyang at some point, but only on the understanding that it can never be a nuclear power, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday._ by [David Brunnstrom / Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## David Brunnstrom / Reuters Aug 2, 2017 5:39 AM UTC by [David Brunnstrom / Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## David Brunnstrom / Reuters Aug 2, 2017 5:39 AM UTC (WASHINGTON) – The U.S. does not seek to topple the North Korean government and would like dialogue with Pyongyang at some point, but only on the understanding that it can never be a nuclear power, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters at the State Department days after Pyongyang tested its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Tillerson reiterated that Washington sought to persuade North Korea to give up its missile and nuclear weapons programs through peaceful pressure. “We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek a 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 said. “We are not your enemy … but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us, and we have to respond. And we hope that at some point they will begin to understand that and we would like to sit and have a dialogue with them.” However, “a condition of those talks is there is no future where North Korea holds nuclear weapons or the ability to deliver those nuclear weapons to anyone in the region, much less the (U.S.) homeland,” he said. North Korea has vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States and U.S. officials said the latest test had shown it may now be able to reach most of the country. Tillerson repeated calls for North Korea’s neighbor and ally China, which has urged a resumption of talks with Pyongyang, to use its influence to create the conditions for “productive dialogue.” He said other options were “not particularly attractive.” President Donald Trump’s administration has said all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea, including military ones. However, given the potential for massive casualties from North Korean retaliation in allied South Korea and Japan and among U.S. troops there, it has stressed the need for a diplomatic solution. Earlier on Tuesday, a leading Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, said Trump had told him he was willing to go to war with North Korea “if they continued to try to hit America with an ICBM.” “He’s told me that. I believe him. If I were China, I would believe him, too, and do something about it. You can stop North Korea, militarily or diplomatically,” he said on NBC’s “Today Show.” “There is a military option: To destroy North Korea’s program and North Korea itself,” Graham said. “I prefer the diplomatic approach. But they will not be allowed to have a missile to hit America with a nuclear weapon on top.” Asked about Graham’s remarks, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders reiterated that the administration was “keeping all options on the table.” ## Transcript We have reaffirmed our position towards North Korea that what we are doing 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. And we're trying to convey to the North Koreans, we are not your enemy, we're not your threat. But you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us and we have to respond. And we hope that in some point, they will begin to understand that and that we would like to sit and have a dialog with them about the future. So we felt the appropriate thing to do first was to seek Peaceful pressure on the regime of North Korea to have them developed a willingness to sit and talk with us and others. But with an understanding that the conditions of those talks is there is no future for North Korea holds nuclear weapon or the ability to deliver those nuclear weapons to anyone in the region much less to the homeland ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4883555/rex-tillerson-north-korea-dialogue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4883555/rex-tillerson-north-korea-dialogue/"},"headline":"Rex Tillerson Says the U.S. Wants Dialogue With North Korea at 'Some Point'","datePublished":"2017-08-02T05:39:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:26:46.880Z","description":"\"We are not your enemy,\" Tillerson said","url":"https://time.com/4883555/rex-tillerson-north-korea-dialogue/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","North Korea","White House","onetime","Rex Tillerson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4fe5638d1d009faf/6988d81322fb85c153e22384/gettyimages-825293016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Brunnstrom / Reuters"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4fe5638d1d009faf/6988d81322fb85c153e22384/gettyimages-825293016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-TILLERSON","caption":"US-POLITICS-TILLERSON","creditText":"PaulJ. 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