Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said if talks between the United States and North Korea fail, Washington should restart its military exercises with South Korea.
“I think we should continue with military exercises,” Ernst told CBS on Sunday. “Obviously I believe that they have a purpose in keeping the peninsula safe and making sure that should anything ever happen, we’re well-rehearsed with our allies to engage. So I would say soon if we don’t see those talks continue.”
[Related: Trump has ‘confidence’ Kim Jong Un will denuclearize, warns China against ‘negative pressure’]
Following his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month in Singapore, Trump agreed to stop joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea.
Referring to the exercises as “war games,” Trump said at the time they were “provocative” and costly.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in North Korea this week to continue negotiations with Pyongyang, but North Korean officials accused the U.S. of making “gangster-like demands” on denuclearization. Pyongyang called the discussions with Pompeo “regrettable” and “robber-like.”
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told NBC News he believes it was a “mistake” to halt the military exercises conducted by the U.S. with South Korea, but said he hopes “the president sticks with the sanctions” imposed on North Korea.
“As long as the actions are to continue to keep the economic pressure on North Korea, actions here will speak louder than words and only those kinds of actions will bring North Korea to the place we’d like to be,” Blunt said Sunday.
