Washington will not exclude the possibility of holding direct talks with Pyongyang, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said on Tuesday.

“Eventually, we don’t rule out the possibility of course of direct talks,” Sullivan told press, in comments carried by AP and Reuters, after talks with Japan’s vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama in Tokyo.

“Our focus is on diplomacy to solve this problem that is presented by the DPRK,” he added. “We must, however, with our allies, Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst should diplomacy fail.”

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday emphasized