Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said North Korea’s announcement it would halt nuclear and missile tests is “better than” continuing with testing, but “not much better than that.”
Cotton was asked about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s decision to suspend the country’s tests as of Saturday and close one of the rogue regime’s nuclear test sites.
“I think this announcement on Friday is better than continued testing, but it’s not much better than that,” Cotton told CBS News on Sunday. ”As you say, it’s an easily reversible decision. They made no announcement about their medium or short range ballistic missiles that threaten hundreds of thousands of Americans in Korea and Japan, just like it threatens our allies there.”
The president is expected to meet with Kim for a historic summit set for the end of May or early June. A location for the meeting has not yet been chosen.
Trump praised Kim’s announcement regarding nuclear and missile tests on Twitter, saying Friday “progress [is] being made for all.”
Though Cotton was hesitant to applaud North Korea’s decision to suspend nuclear and missile tests, he said Trump has put Kim “on the wrong foot.”
“North Korea has been on the back foot for a long time,” Cotton said. “The fact that Kim requested this summit, the president accepted, I think to his surprise, and moved so quickly, said he’s not going to ask for U.S. troops to be removed, and now has made this announcement shows that he realizes that time and momentum is on the side of the united States and our allies.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who will meet with Kim in the coming days, said North Korea has dropped its demand that the U.S. remove troops from South Korea before it gives up its nuclear weapons.
