03.09.18

Senator Sullivan Statement on North Korea

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement on potential talks with North Korea:

“It is clear that the global maximum pressure campaign we’ve been focused on for months under the leadership of the Trump Administration – U.S. sanctions mandated by Congress, additional sanctions authorized by the United Nations Security Council,  the development of credible military options, and pressuring China to do much more regarding North Korea – is having a real impact and clearly starting to bite.

“As we move forward with the objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, staying very closely aligned with our allies in the region – especially the Republic of Korea and Japan – will be critical, along with the continuation of the maximum pressure campaign, U.S./ Republic of Korea joint military exercises, and importantly the stationing of U.S. military forces on the Korean Peninsula.

“Years ago, President Reagan famously coined the term ‘trust, but verify.’ With North Korea, a regime that has a history of consistently cheating on and backing away from every deal they have ever agreed to over the last three decades, U.S. policy must now be ‘never trust and meticulously verify.’”

In late February 2018, Senator Sullivan was part of a Senate Armed Services delegation that visited South Korea. This included meetings with ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, ROK Defense Minister Song Young-moo, General Brooks and United States Forces Korea leadership, and a visit to the joint security area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Similarly, the delegation visited Japan, where they met with U.S. and Japanese military and civilian leadership. The trip concluded with a stop in Alaska, where the delegation visited Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Ft. Greely for an overview on Alaska’s strategic military importance. In each location, the delegation discussed countering threats posed by North Korea and U.S. missile defense systems, which are primarily based in Alaska.

 

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