Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, poured cold water on the potential for the U.S. and North Korea to engage in direct talks over the ongoing nuclear issue, telling the press on Monday that “now is not the time to talk”.

Questions arose regarding the potential for direct talks between the two countries after the U.S. Secretary of state – Rex Tillerson – announced on Saturday that the U.S. was reaching out to North Korea in an effort to gauge the possibility of dialogue.

However, on Sunday Trump used social media to rebuke the moveand announce that he had told