Trump Urged to Increase Pressure on North Korea to Denuclearize

February 27, 2020 by Tom Ramstack
Trump Urged to Increase Pressure on North Korea to Denuclearize
President Donald Trump, right, walks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a break in talks at the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 28, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) **FOR USE WITH THIS STORY ONLY**

WASHINGTON — Foreign policy experts told a Senate subcommittee Tuesday that North Korea has returned to its hardline militarization and human rights abuses despite earlier pledges to President Donald Trump of more moderate politics.

The Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee held a hearing as it considers proposals to abandon Trump administration policies of appeasement and instead impose more sanctions on North Korea.

The most recent sanctions were imposed by Trump Executive Order 13810 in September 2017 as North Korea conducted tests of long-range missiles with the ability to reach the United States. North Korea also was known to be testing nuclear weapons.

The Executive Order authorized the U.S. government to remove from its financial system or freeze assets of any companies, businesses, organizations and individuals trading in goods, services or technology with North Korea. In addition, any aircraft or ship that enters North Korea was banned for 180 days from entering the United States.

A White House statement said, “Foreign financial institutions must choose between doing business with the United States or facilitating trade with North Korea or its designated supporters.”

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit in Singapore in June 2018 to try to ease escalating tensions between the two countries.

Kim Jong-un said he would consider denuclearizing his military weaponry if the U.S. reduced its sanctions and potential military threats. He gave no timetable for denuclearization or halting his long-range missile program.

The two leaders followed up with a second meeting in Hanoi last year but came away with no firm agreements. Since then, they have largely kept silent about each other rather than hurl the kind of threats and insults that marked their relations before the Singapore summit.

Diplomatic witnesses during the hearing Tuesday of the subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy called the Hanoi meeting a failure that might have contributed to North Korea’s return to tough foreign policies.

A leading proponent of more sanctions against North Korea is Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, who is chairman of the subcommittee. He advocates a “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against North Korea to force it to demilitarize.

He said Tuesday that negotiations with Kim Jong-un have not only failed but “weakened our defense” against “the madman in Pyongyang.”

Sue Mi Terry, former director for Korea at the National Security Council under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, told the Senate subcommittee, there might be better alternatives than maximum pressure.

“We are currently at an impasse with North Korea and we are facing dim prospects for the resumption of negotiations,” she said in her testimony. “But the chance of resuming negotiations is not zero. The United States can restart negotiations if we are willing to offer maximum sanctions relief in return for something less than the ‘denuclearization’ of North Korea.”

The United States acting alone against North Korea is unlikely to be the most effective strategy for eliminating its military threat, she said.

“The only way to reduce the North Korean nuclear threat is to get International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into North Korea to oversee the suspension and sealing of nuclear operations, followed by the installation of monitoring cameras,” she said.

She added that hope for normalization of relations with North Korea was not great under current foreign relations.

“North Korea’s current position reflects little appetite to return to diplomacy,” she said.

Bruce Klingner, former CIA deputy division chief for Korea, implied that Trump might have been naive in his earlier beliefs of progress with Kim Jong-un.

“Euphoric claims of breakthroughs made after the Singapore summit turned out to be premature,” Klingner said in his testimony. “To date, President Trump’s top-down approach of summit diplomacy has been no more effective than previous efforts to curtail Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.”

Last year, North Korea launched 26 test missiles, its highest-ever in recent years. Its military also unveiled five new short-range ballistic missiles that threaten South Korea, Japan and U.S. forces stationed in both countries.

Just before Christmas, Kim Jong-un announced he no longer felt bound by his promise to Trump not to conduct nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

“Despite three meetings between Trump and Kim, the two sides remain far apart even over the definitions of seemingly straightforward terms such as ‘denuclearization’ and ‘Korean Peninsula,’ let alone the sequencing, linkages and timeline for achieving denuclearization,” Klingner said.

Robert King, who served as U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues from 2009-2017, urged the U.S. government to renew pressure on Kim Jong-un because of his regime’s disregard for human rights.

“Our foreign policy toward North Korea should reflect our values, our commitment to the human rights ideals on which nation was founded,” King testified.

A+
a-
  • Donald Trump
  • North Korea
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Geopolitics

    July 7, 2025
    by Katelyn Sims
    Netanyahu, Trump Meeting to Discuss Iran, Gaza

    WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump are meeting at the White House on Monday for... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump are meeting at the White House on Monday for discussions no doubt centering on their respective future policies regarding Iran and the possibility of a hostage release deal in Gaza. Netanyahu arrived in the U.S.... Read More

    July 2, 2025
    by Katelyn Sims
    Trump Lifts Sanctions on Syria, Assad Not So Lucky

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday lifted sanctions against Syria, though his executive order stopped well short of easing... Read More

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday lifted sanctions against Syria, though his executive order stopped well short of easing pressure on former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In signing the order, Trump said he hoped the move by the U.S. would promote the safety and prosperity... Read More

    Back to the Future: NATO Leaders Hark Back to the Cold War as They Meet to Hike Defense Spending

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was upbeat that the military organization will agree on massive spending... Read More

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was upbeat that the military organization will agree on massive spending hikes at a “transformational summit” on Wednesday, as member state leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump assembled in the Netherlands. Leaders of the 32-nation alliance are... Read More

    Saudi Crown Prince Welcomes Trump to Kingdom as US Leader Begins Middle East Tour

    RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off a four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, putting the focus... Read More

    RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off a four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, putting the focus on sealing economic agreements with a key Mideast ally while shared concerns about Iran's nuclear program and the war in Gaza bubble in the background. Crown Prince Mohammed... Read More

    House Republicans and Democrats Say the US Must Maintain Its Troop Totals in Europe

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee voiced sharp bipartisan criticism Tuesday about reports... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee voiced sharp bipartisan criticism Tuesday about reports the Trump administration is eyeing a reduction of U.S. forces in Europe, saying America must stick with its NATO allies. Rep. Michael Rogers, R-Mich., the panel’s chairman,... Read More

    Change in Itinerary for US Vice President JD Vance Brings Cautious Relief for Greenland and Denmark

    Greenland and Denmark appeared cautiously relieved early Wednesday by the news that U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are changing... Read More

    Greenland and Denmark appeared cautiously relieved early Wednesday by the news that U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are changing their itinerary for their visit to Greenland Friday, reducing the likelihood that they will cross paths with residents angered by the Trump administration’s attempts to annex... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top