WASHINGTON: Secre­tary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday that President Don­a­ld Trump had instructed him to continue diplomatic efforts to calm rising tensions with North Korea, saying “tho­­se diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops.”

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Tillerson downplayed messages that President Trump had previously posted on Twitter suggesting Tillerson was wasting his time trying to negotiate with “Little Rocket Man,” a derogatory nickname Trump has coined for North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump “has made it clear to me to continue my diplomatic efforts,” Tillerson said.

Tillerson’s comments come amid soaring tensions betw­een the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a war of words between the two countries’ leaders. North Korea has conducted a series of nuclear tests in recent weeks and ago and launched two missiles over Japan. Tillerson has been in talks with China to enlist its help on getting North Korea to back down.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2017