Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he supports the agreement on denuclearization that President Trump reached with North Korea but said the U.S. should “restore the policy of maximum pressure” if the terms aren’t upheld by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.
[READ: Here’s the full text of ‘historic’ document Trump, Kim signed at North Korea summit]
“I support the goals contained in the joint statement and I remain supportive of the administrative state position,” McConnell said Tuesday after opening the Senate floor for business.
“The goal of the United States is the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” McConnell did not echo the criticisms expressed by some Republicans who said Tuesday they did not support ending joint military exercises with the South Koreans.
Instead, McConnell called the agreement “an historic first step” that is not an assured success.
[Related: Trump, Kim Jong Un shake hands in historic first meeting]
“The next steps in the negotiations will test whether we can get to a verifiable deal which enhances the security of northeast Asia, our allies and of course, the United States,” he said.
