Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said President Trump does deserve some credit for North Korea’s willingness to come to the table and negotiate over its nuclear program.
Schiff said on ABC’s “This Week” Trump’s personality may have forced North Korea to the bargaining table, but it could also be a problem during talks.
“It’s more than fair to say that the combination of the president’s unpredictability and his bellicosity had something to do with North Korea’s willingness to come to the table,” Schiff said. “He needs to realize we may go into a confrontational phase, and he may not want want the full blame if things go south.
“Most important, when things do become confrontational, as is likely to happen it will be very important that we’re lashed up with our allies, South Korea and Japan, otherwise, North Korea will pick us apart. This president is not particularly good about lashing up with our allies.”
Schiff said it’s difficult to work with a country like North Korea because the Hermit Kingdom is a very tough intelligence target.
“North Korea is very opaque. They’re a difficult intelligence target. Iran has been, too. I think we need to be circumspect,” he said. “It’s prudent to go into this with some skepticism. That means we have to insist upon a rigorous inspection regime in North Korea. Something that will be a difficult ask. They’re not going to want us roaming about North Korea.”
While Schiff remained skeptical of North Korea’s intentions, it’s important to press the regime, he said.
“It’s very positive that we have this now dramatic step towards conciliation by Kim Jong Un. The history, though, is not encouraging,” he said. “We see the North Koreans vacillate between confrontation and conciliation. They were in a strongly confrontational phase up until now. We have to test this. We have to hope that this is a change of course. I think we need to be mindful of their record.”
