Reuters news agency says the United States is pursuing direct diplomacy behind the scenes with North Korea, despite the ongoing war of words between President Donald Trump and Pyongyang.
In an exclusive story published Wednesday, Reuters says it has learned from an unnamed State Department official that Joseph Yun, the U.S. special envoy to North Korea, has been speaking with diplomats stationed at the North's United Nations mission, utilizing what is known in the diplomatic trade as "the New York channel."
FILE - North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un makes a statement regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the U.N. general assembly, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang, Sept. 22, 2017.
President Trump has openly vowed to destroy North Korea if the regime continues to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs. Pyongyang this year conducted it sixth and most powerful nuclear detonation and has test fired a number of missiles, including a purported intercontinental ballistic missile that, if perfected, could theoretically reach the U.S. mainland.
When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last month that Washington was seeking a diplomatic opening with Pyongyang, Trump went on Twitter and urged Tillerson to stop "wasting his time trying to negotiate with 'Little Rocket Man' "-- the derisive nickname he has bestowed on the young leader.