Congressman Carson Statement on the North Korea Summit

Statement

Today, Congressman André Carson (D-IN), Member of the House Intelligence Committee, released the following statement:

"The summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un has the potential to be an important first step toward a long lasting, productive dialogue. If achieved, the Administration's stated goal of complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization would remove the threat of an unpredictable nuclear power and create a unique opportunity to pursue peace on the Korean Peninsula and relief for millions of struggling people in North Korea.

"Yet, despite the possibility that progress was made, experience tells us that we should be highly cautious. We cannot implicitly trust Kim Jong Un no matter how strong his rapport with President Trump. Each of the previous attempts to negotiate with North Korea has fallen apart, usually following North Korean deception or bad faith. We should not make any irreversible concessions and should instead insist on a robust verification regime, accountable to international third parties like the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations.

"I am also deeply concerned about President Trump's assertions that we will end military exercises with South Korea, as well as reports that this determination was made without consulting with our allies. We have deep cultural, economic, and military ties with South Korea that cannot be broken and should not be strained in the interest of highly uncertain gains.

"While significant, this summit has merely opened the door to months or years of hard work on a binding agreement. Next steps must involve reaching specific, actionable steps on denuclearization, human rights, ballistic missiles, sponsorship of terrorism, and other critical threats. If we hope to make this summit more than just useful propaganda for the Kim regime, the Trump Administration must set aside meaningless flattery, remain firm on our goals and redlines, and reassert our alignment with regional allies."

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