US not North Korea's enemy but we have to respond to threats: Rex Tillerson

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson promised today that the United States is not trying to topple Kim Jong-Un's North Korean regime, but warned it must halt its nuclear missile program.

Briefing reporters on diplomatic efforts to pressure Pyongyang, Tillerson said Washington would be willing to talk to the North if its leaders accept that they must disarm.

"We don't think having a dialogue where the North Koreans come to the table assuming they're going to maintain their nuclear weapons is productive," he warned.

But he sought to reassure the isolated authoritarian regime that it does not need a nuclear arsenal to defend itself from a US attack.

"We do not see a regime change. We do not seek the collapse of the regime. We do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula," he promised.

"We do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel. And we're trying to convey that to the North Koreans.

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