Former Secretary of State John Kerry said President Trump has “stepped over the line” with his rhetoric on North Korea, and is giving Pyongyang a reason to develop a nuclear weapon.
“I think what the president needs to do is make sure he’s not feeding into North Korea’s fear of regime change or of a unilateral attack or otherwise, and I think the rhetoric to date has frankly stepped over the line with respect to the messages that are being sent,” Kerry said in an interview with CNN set to air Monday. “It’s given North Korea a reason to say, ‘Hey, we need a bomb because if we don’t have a bomb, we’re going to not be able to protect ourselves, and they’ll come after us.’”
Pres Trump's rhetoric has “stepped over the line” and has “given North Korea reason to say, ‘Hey, we need a bomb,'” @johnkerry tells me. pic.twitter.com/ZtYM8mARvl— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) November 6, 2017
The president hasn’t held back in his criticisms of North Korea. In his maiden speech before the United Nations General Assembly in September, Trump called Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man” and threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if the U.S. were put in a position of having to defend its allies from the regime.
Trump has also warned Pyongyang in August it would be met with “fire and fury” if the rogue regime continued to threaten the U.S.
The Trump administration has said all options, including a military option, are on the table when it comes to addressing North Korea’s missile and nuclear testing. However, a military option is one the administration said it would rather not employ.
Kerry said the U.S. should instead push for negotiations with North Korea.
“We’ve got to get into the dialogue,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to happen overnight. Lots of negotiations have taken a long time.”
Kerry’s criticisms of Trump’s rhetoric come after 16 veteran members of Congress issued a statement Friday warning about the impacts of a potential ground invasion in North Korea. The statement was issued by 15 Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina.
“As Veterans, we have defended this nation in war and we remain committed to this country’s security. We also understand that entering into a protracted and massive ground war with North Korea would be disastrous for U.S. troops and our allies,” the lawmakers said. “The Joint Chiefs of Staff, it appears, agree. Their assessment underscores what we’ve known all along: There are no good military options for North Korea.”
The lawmakers also urged the president to tone down his comments on North Korea.
“The president needs to stop making provocative statements that hinder diplomatic options and put American troops further at risk,” they said.
