The U.S. State Department has reaffirmed that it will focus on applying sanctions and pressure on North Korea and now is not the time for dialogue.

Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said during a regular news briefing on Thursday that North Korea needs to take steps to show the U.S. and the world that they are serious about their attempts to denuclearize.

The spokeswoman said that the U.S. has not seen such attempts yet, and has only seen two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in a month, adding that the North has a long way to go before talks with the U.S.

The remarks came after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the possibility of talks with Pyongyang earlier this week.
  
Nauert then made it clear that in their recent comments, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and acting assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton both pointed out the lack of effort by North Korea to talk any serious steps toward talks.
 

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