Trump dismisses bargaining with North Korea

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Sunday said any attempt to negotiate with North Korea was futile and the State Department should stop wasting its time. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Chinese leaders in Beijing on Saturday and said the Trump administration still has open, direct channels of communication with Pyongyang, but there’s no indication North Korea would ever discuss denuclearization. “I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump tweeted the next day, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!” Trump did not explain whether that meant the only option for addressing the North Korean threat was military action. But he said in a speech earlier this month at the United Nations that the United States would destroy North Korea if provoked. Meanwhile, two Vietnamese women pleaded not guilty in a Malaysian court on Monday after North Korea accused them of murdering Kim’s half brother Kim Jong Nam. The women face the death penalty if convicted.