U.S. Secretary of State urges DPRK to abandon nuclear weapons programs

UNITED NATIONS, Dec.15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday told the UN Security Council that the ultimate goal of solving the Korean Peninsula crisis must be the "complete, verifiable and irreversible abandonment of its nuclear weapons programs."

Tillerson, who did not repeat his Tuesday stance that there are no preconditions to having talks, urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to enter negotiations and give up its nuclear weapons.

"The international community remains firm in our determination that we will not accept a nuclear North Korea (DPRK)," he noted.

The Security Council meeting was called amid rising concerns that the world is on the brink of nuclear conflict. Enditem