President Trump must make the most of the opportunity for negotiations with the “deceitful” North Korean regime, a top Senate Democrat said Tuesday.
“While I have few illusions about the regime in Pyongyang given their long track record of deceitful negotiations, I hope that President Trump will be strategic enough to utilize this current opening by fully engaging the United States in clear-eyed and tough-minded constructive diplomacy,” New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Tuesday.
His statement follows reports from South Korean officials that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has a newfound willingness to discuss the dismantling of his nuclear weapons program. The announcement has been met with skepticism from U.S. officials, in light of North Korea’s surreptitious development of the nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles.
“All efforts in the past have failed and have simply bought North Korea time to achieve what they want to achieve,” Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier Tuesday. “Maybe this is a breakthrough. I seriously doubt it.”
That presents a high-stakes question for the Trump administration about how to proceed. North Korea is just months away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to the United States, according to U.S. intelligence officials, so there is limited time to assess the sincerity of such talks. But those negotiations might be the only alternative to a devastating conflict on the peninsula.
“Whichever direction talks with North Korea go, we will be firm in our resolve,” Vice President Pence said Tuesday. “The United States and our allies remain committed to applying maximum pressure on the Kim regime to end their nuclear program. All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable, and concrete steps toward denuclearization.”
Menendez’s statement suggested the political difficulty that Trump will face throughout the process, as well, as he risks being held responsible for diplomatic failure. “Unfortunately, President’s Trump’s inconsistent approach to diplomacy while North Korea has continued to make significant progress with their nuclear program risks undermining this potential path,” Menendez said.
