WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday that Washington is willing to begin talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "without pre-condition."

"We're ready to have the first meeting without precondition," Tillerson told a policy forum at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.

"Let's just meet," the top US diplomat told an audience of around 300. "We can talk about the weather if you want. We can talk about whether it's going to be a square table or a round table."

"Can we at least sit down and see each other face to face, and then we can begin to lay out a map, a road map, of what we might be willing to work towards," Tillerson said, changing the tough tone long being held by the Trump administration and suggesting some initial contacts to set the ground rules for further negotiations.

Tillerson noted that a dialogue is possible whenever Pyongyang is ready.

Tillerson's remarks came two weeks after the DPRK successfully test-fired a newly developed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, drawing strong condemnation from the international community.

Washington and Pyongyang has been exchanging harsh rhetoric in the past months, with US President Donald Trump threatening to rain down "fire and fury" and "totally destroy" the country.

Before Tillerson's speech, the United States has insisted that negotiations should be based on the DPRK's nuclear disarmament.