By Yi Whan-woo



The Donald Trump administration does not seek a regime change in North Korea or invasion, Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was quoted as saying, Friday.



Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of the South Korean delegation to Washington told reporters after a meeting with Tillerson at the Department of State that he shared changing U.S. policy on North Korea.



The delegation is led by Hong Seok-hyun, President Moon Jae-in's special envoy to Washington.



Tillerson's comments add to speculation in Seoul that the U.S. may be moving toward engagement with North Korea after making hawkish rhetoric, such as launching a preemptive strike on the Kim regime.



Some analysts speculate Washington may be fine-tuning its strategy of "maximum pressure and engagement" on Pyongyang in consultation with the new Seoul government's inter-Korean policy of pursuing sanctions and dialogue simultaneously.



The experts claimed Trump put priority on sanctions, while President Moon Jae-in, who was elected on May 9, will ultimately pursue inter-Korean reconciliation.



Moon sent the delegation led by Hong, Tuesday, to coordinate his summit with Trump in June and also to discuss a range of issues involving the two allies. Tillerson was among a series of high-profile U.S. figures Hong was scheduled to meet.



Tillerson was quoted as saying he hopes Pyongyang trusts the U.S. and that the reclusive state should not inquire about U.S. intentions "through back channels" as Washington sends its messages only through public channels.



He stressed that North Korea should refrain from conducting nuclear or missile tests for a certain period of time for the talks to begin in the "right atmosphere," according to a Seoul delegate.



The Ministry of Unification said Trump's remark appears to be aimed at dispelling Pyongyang's worries that it needs to develop nuclear arms inevitably against "the hostile U.S. policy of nuclear threats."



The ministry also said Tillerson's words are interpreted as part of U.S. efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis peacefully in line with the Moon administration's pursuance of resuming dialogue with the Kim regime.



"The peaceful method of settling Pyongyang's nuclear program is what the two allies have fully sympathized with recently," a ministry official said.



The official cited a telephone conversation between Moon and Trump on May 10 and the meetings this week in Seoul between Seoul officials and the White House delegation led by Matt Pottinger, the senior director for East Asia at the National Security Council (NSC).



Yang Moon-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said Tillerson's remarks may help improve inter-Korean ties to some extent. "He basically reiterated what he said in his lecture to the State Department officials on May 3. But it can be still have significance on the inter-Korean ties as his comments appeared to be supportive of the Moon government's policy on Pyongyang," Yang said.







