Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., warned Sunday the Trump administration should be “very skeptical” of North Korea’s intentions as the U.S. president prepares to meet soon with Kim Jong Un over its nuclear program.
“We need to be very skeptical,” said Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“We have a series here of our leaders trying to deal with these tyrants and not having very good success in doing that. They will not be truthful just because they want to be truthful.”
Blunt’s comments come after Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in had a historic meeting Friday where the two leaders adopted a declaration promising “no more war,” “a new era of peace,” and “complete denuclearization.”
North Korea set no timetable for denuclearization but said that the two sides planned to achieve a permanent peace within the year.
As Trump readies to meet with Kim, Blunt said the Americans should be careful about what it concedes.
For example, he said the U.S. should not withdraw troops from the Korean Peninsula.
“I think our presence in South Korea continues to be essential,” Blunt said. “We have to be thoughtful about that.”
Blunt said North Korea is more desperate than ever, subjected to a harsh sanction regime pushed by the Trump administration.
But he isn’t sure that means North Korea is being genuine about what it may give up.
“Everybody knows they can barely feed their country,” Blunt said. “They don’t have currency the rest of the world accepts. It’s a critical time for him [Kim]. But I think we have to be very skeptical. This is very much whatever they say — I’m not sure you can trust it, but you certainly have to verify it.”
