The Washington Post says the U.S. State Department has begun working on a new initiative to break the diplomatic deadlock with Pyongyang, starting with a proposed 60-day freeze on nuclear and missile tests.
 
In an article titled, “Inside the Drive to ‘make a deal’ with North Korea,” columnist Josh Rogin noted remarks made by U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations late last month.
 
Yun said that if North Korea stopped nuclear and missile testing for about 60 days, it would be the signal Washington needs to resume direct dialogue with Pyongyang.
 
Rogin said that Yun’s remarks were off the record and were described by two people who attended the council event.
 
Rogin said that while Yun stopped short of elaborating, administration sources said his remarks were consistent with what State Secretary Rex Tillerson has been saying both privately and publicly.
 
Back in August, Tillerson told reporters that the best signal North Korea could give Washington that it’s prepared to talk would be to stop its missile launches.
 
However, administration sources said Yun’s 60-day clock hasn’t started yet because the administration has yet to determine why the North hasn’t carried out tests of late.

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