National security adviser Robert O’Brien stopped short of detailing how the United States would respond to renewed missile tests from North Korea but said the administration wouldn’t let them go unanswered.
O’Brien, who replaced John Bolton after his White House exit, said he didn’t “want to speculate” as to how strong the U.S. response would be to North Korea if they continue missile or nuclear tests after threatening President Trump with a “Christmas gift.”
“We have a lot of tools in our tool kit, and additional pressure can be brought to bear on the North Koreans,” said O’Brien in a Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week. “This was the most difficult challenge in the world when President Trump took office. President Obama warned him that there could be a war in the Korean peninsula.”
.@jonkarl: “What will be the consequences if North Korea resumes either long range missile tests or nuclear tests?”
WH national security adviser Robert O’Brien: “I don’t want to speculate about what will happen but we have a lot of tools in our tool kit.” https://t.co/0n5QdpEKjg pic.twitter.com/aivgDDi8YQ
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 29, 2019
O’Brien, 53, explained that Trump’s “personal diplomacy” has seen some successes, despite continued short-range missile tests. He noted that long-range missile tests could be crossing a line for the president.
He added, “The United States will take action as we do in these situations, and if Kim Jong Un takes that approach, we’ll be extraordinarily disappointed, and we’ll demonstrate that disappointment.”
“We’ve diffused a very high tension situation, so we’re going to have to see if the president’s approach works,” Robert O’Brien says.
“He’s tried to deescalate tensions and get to a point where Kim Jong Un will actually live up to his commitments.” https://t.co/0n5QdpEKjg pic.twitter.com/h6BCSkzf6Q
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 29, 2019
Kim warned Trump ahead of the holiday season that he would be sending a “Christmas gift” to the U.S., which many believed would be long-range missile tests, but no action took place on Christmas Day. Still, the U.S. sent four spy planes to surveil North Korea throughout the holidays in case Kim took any steps that could put U.S. allies at risk.
