U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki HaleyNimrata (Nikki) HaleyHaley: ‘Open question’ if US athletes will attend Olympics amid North Korea tensions Haley: Trump isn’t deciding who controls east Jerusalem Emergency UN Security Council meeting called after Trump’s Jerusalem announcement: report MORE said Sunday the Trump administration has not changed the preconditions President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE set regarding talks with North Korea amid the escalating crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
“There is no turnaround. What he has basically said is, ‘Yes, there could be a time we could talk to North Korea, but a lot of things have to happen before that actually takes place,’ ” Haley said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
“They have to stop testing, they have to be willing to talk about banning their nuclear weapons. Those things have to happen,” she continued, adding that the U.S. is going to be “smart this time” when they come to the negotiating table with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Haley emphasized that Pyongyang must stop its weapons testing “for a significant amount of time” in order for them to meet requirements for opening up talks.
“It is a dangerous situation,” she added.
Trump previously insisted that he would not take part in any talks with Pyongyang unless the isolated state agreed to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Only a few months ago, Trump told Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that “he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man.”
Haley’s comments come ahead of reported talks this week between South Korea and North Korea.
On Saturday, Trump expressed a desire to see North Korea participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.
“I’d like to see them getting involved in the Olympics and maybe things go from there. So I’m behind that 100 percent,” the president told reporters at Camp David.