WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement after President Trump agreed on Thursday night to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to discuss denuclearization. Menendez authored the North Korea Sanctions Act of 2015, legislation that created new sanctions and military countermeasures to stop Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and address its cyber warfare.
“I welcome any opportunity to forge a diplomatic pathway and prevent a possible military misadventure with North Korea and commend President Moon for his efforts. But I have deep concerns about President Trump’s ability to engage in the clear-eyed diplomacy necessary to achieve a verifiably denuclearized North Korea and protect American national security interests and those of our allies.
“Pyongyang’s track record in past diplomatic engagement leaves considerable room for skepticism about their intentions in this negotiation. Nevertheless, testing diplomacy is far preferable to the risks of a catastrophic and costly war.”
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