Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday warned the Trump administration against going easy on North Korea in talks about its nuclear program just because that country released three U.S. detainees.
“We cannot forget: No regime has the right to hold American citizens in captivity without cause, and under no circumstances should American citizens be viewed as bargaining chips,” Schumer said Wednesday on the Senate floor.
“If countries in the world think they can detain Americans and get something in return, we’ll see many more hostages,” he said. He added that he was “rooting for” the success of U.S. talks with North Korea, but added that “the hostages shouldn’t be part of it.”
President Trump announced Wednesday on Twitter that three Korean-American citizens who were being held captive in North Korea were on their way back to the U.S. along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said North Korea’s release of the three U.S. citizens was a “positive gesture of goodwill.”
Trump said in his Wednesday tweet that a time and place has been set for his upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
