Washington is reportedly seeking behind-the-scenes talks with Pyongyang to find a diplomatic solution to the heightened confrontation between the U.S. and the North.
 
Reuters on Tuesday quoted a senior U.S. State Department official as saying that U.S. top nuclear negotiator Joseph Yun has been in contact with diplomats at the North’s UN mission using the so-called “New York channel.”
 
The official told Reuters that “the preferred endpoint is not a war but some kind of diplomatic settlement,” noting there is much more room for diplomacy.
 
The official added that it is misleading to presume that Washington is at a crossroads between only the two choices of diplomacy and military action vis-à-vis the North.
 
The official echoes remarks made by U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson in Beijing on September 30th that the U.S. has two or three direct channels to talk to the North.