North Korea must “earn its way back” to the negotiating table, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday, backing away from an earlier offer of unconditional talks to end the stand-off with Pyongyang. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Friday it was time to immediately re-establish and strengthen communication channels with North Korea, including inter-Korean and military to military channels, to reduce the risk of a misunderstanding escalating into conflict. It’s not just the United States that could soon see itself engaged in a deadly conflict with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. China is also at risk of an imminent war with North Korea, warned some of China’s most prestigious national security experts at a conference in Beijing this week.