<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to the Philippines this weekend to attend the annual Association of Southeastern Asian Nations&rsquo; (ASEAN) Regional Forum, where he will have the opportunity to speak with North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Tillerson told reporters that the US is neither friend nor enemy to North Korea. The United States does not want to overthrow Kim Jong-un&rsquo;s government or attack his country. We just want him to stop his nuclear threats. ;</p>
<p>Tillerson&rsquo;s words represent the Trump Administration&rsquo;s first serious attempt at a diplomatic opening to Pyongyang, and he has offered to open negotiations with the peninsula by assuring North Korea the security it seeks and a new chance at economic growth if it surrenders its nuclear weapons. ;</p>
<p>ASEAN &#8220;will be a very important opportunity&#8230;for the US and North Korea to send messages &ndash; unvarnished, with no middle men &ndash; to one another about their policies,&rdquo; says Mike Fuchs, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. &ldquo;The interesting dynamic is the signals sent from one to the other when they&rsquo;re in the room together.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The ASEAN forum ;brings together representatives from 27 countries. It will be Tillerson&#8217;s job to find a way to reassure our allies while trying to send a clear message to North Korea what the US will and will not accept in regards to Pyongyang&rsquo;s weapons program. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;If we can get past the impasse of the North Koreans saying, &lsquo;We will only come to the table if you recognize us as a nuclear state,&rsquo; and the US saying, &lsquo;We can only enter into talks if you commit to denuclearization,&rsquo; there&rsquo;s a diplomatic space,&rdquo; says Robert S. Litwak, director of security studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.</p>
<p>As of last week, North Korea has successfully test-fired at least two missiles that analysts believe are capable of reaching the United States. With this in mind, Pyongyang&rsquo;s diplomats could believe they have the upper hand in negotiations.</p>
<p>Christopher R. Hill, a former American ambassador to Seoul, says the North Koreans believe the US will eventually be cornered into accepting North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. &ldquo;We are left in a situation where they believe we will ultimately acquiesce.&#8221;</p>
<p>In what the White House insists was not a response to Pyongyang&#8217;s recent test, the US military ;tested a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile they say demonstrates we are ;ready &ldquo;to deter, detect, and defend against attacks on the United States and its allies.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>China supports the idea of face-to-face talks between North Korea and the US, but is working with ASEAN on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea that could delay such a meeting. ;</p>
<p>An agreement centered around the current proposals for the Code of Conduct would be a victory for China and would be beneficial for its reputation &ldquo;in the sense that it helps back up the idea of its rise as a peaceful power,&rdquo; reports <em>CNN Politics. ;</em></p>
<p>Polls show that ASEAN nations are more hesitant than ever to stand up to China, possibly because they don&rsquo;t believe the Trump Administration will help in the event of a dispute in the South China Sea.</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> America and North Korea have been trading provocations, which was necessary as a preliminary step in negotiation. This will not be a quick process but Trump has engaged North Korea and working to solve the problem.  ;Obama ignored North Korea.  ;He should never have allowed them to get to this point.</p>