The United States is quietly reaching out through diplomatic channels to North Korea despite President Trump’s admonition to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that such talks are a waste of time, according to a report.

Joseph Yun, a State Department official leading the negotiations, is using the so-called “New York channel” to make contact with the rogue regime’s diplomats at its United Nations mission, Reuters reported late Tuesday.

The revelation that Yun has been conducting behind-the-scenes diplomacy with Pyongyang comes as North Korea continues to develop its weapons system and as some South Korean and US officials have said his efforts have been reined in.

“It has not been limited at all, both (in) frequency and substance,” a senior State Department official told Reuters.