Eight Democratic senators sent a letter to President Trump yesterday expressing “grave and growing concern” that his efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula “appear to be stalled and on the brink of failure.”
The senators, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, warn that North Korea appears to be moving full speed ahead with its long-range missile programs while the Trump administration’s diplomacy flounders.
“Over the past six months North Korea has conducted at least 15 ballistic missile tests, including what open source imagery suggests was an ICBM static engine test at its Sohae facility on December 7, and another similar test on December 14,” the letter reads. “We are disturbed that almost two years after the Singapore Summit your administration has yet to develop a workable diplomatic process to structure real, serious and sustainable negotiations with North Korea.”
Stephen Biegun, the top U.S. envoy for North Korea, ended a four-day trip to South Korea, Japan, and China with no progress made toward restarting negotiations with Pyongyang, which is demanding concessions by the end of the year or it will deliver an unspecified Christmas gift.
The Democrats suggest going for a small deal as a first step in a longer process.
“We reiterate our hope that you will execute a serious diplomatic plan before it is too late, which includes a sequenced process to verifiably freeze and roll back North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs in conjunction with continued appropriate sanctions and other pressure; a robust deterrence posture; strengthened alliances; intensified diplomatic engagement; and a deepening of the North-South dialogue that can provide a pathway to full denuclearization and a durable peace agreement,” their letter to Trump says.
In addition to Schumer and Reed, the letter is signed by Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Mark Warner of Virginia, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Dianne Feinstein of California.
Read more from our senior writer on defense and national security in today’s edition of Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense.
