"Multiple US government and congressional officials" told NBC that they have been warned by Joseph Yun, US envoy to North Korea, that Trump's insults won't help them bring North Korean officials to the negotiating table.
Yun's comments in turn sparked remarks by Senator Bob Corker, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, that the White House has disrupted diplomatic efforts with North Korea, Axios reports. Yun has begun to lobby the administration to rein in further threats, according to the report, while also working to revive talks with Kim's government.
The report contradicts previous assertions by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said October 1 that the US is in direct contact with the North Korean government. The US has "a couple, three" channels with which it communicates with Pyongyang, the US diplomat said. One known channel of bilateral discussions has been through North Korean diplomats to the United Nations. It is thought that indirect talks remain open between former US officials and their North Korean counterparts through sidelines discussions at international events.
"The exchange of rhetorical barbs between President Trump and Kim Jong-un has exacerbated tensions, leaving many people thinking seriously about the possibility of a nuclear war or military conflict on the Korean Peninsula, " Jung H. Pak, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote October 17.
The US, Japanese and South Korean navies kicked off new military exercises on Monday, which are intended to send "a message to the North Koreans," Alexander Mercouris, editor-in-chief of the Duran, told Loud & Clear on Radio Sputnik Tuesday.
