Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on North Korea. I appreciate you taking the time to make me aware of your concerns on this important matter.
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have been a consistent backdrop to international relations on a global scale for years. As you may know, North Korea has tested five nuclear devices between 2006 and 2016 and declared itself a nuclear-armed state, restarting their plutonium-production reactor and openly building a uranium enrichment plant. In August 2016, North Korea test fired their first submarine launched ballistic missile, followed by a test-fire of an intermediate-range ballistic missile in February 2017 and four missile launches from a long-range rocket launch site in March 2017.
I am extremely alarmed by North Korea's recent acceleration of their dangerous nuclear development and ballistic missile testing. This poses a significant threat to the US, our allies and global stability. I am disappointed that the Trump Administration has added pressure to an already complicated situation with increasingly hostile rhetoric. Saber-rattling is not a substitute for strategy and our nation faces a difficult challenge of conducting hard-nosed diplomacy and developing a coherent strategy to counter the North Korean threat. I am concerned that the Trump Administration is painting itself into a corner with no diplomatic off-ramps and few alternative courses of action.
The Trump Administration must be clear and consistent in communicating with Congress and the American people. Given the gravity of the threat posed by a nuclear-armed North Korea, it is deeply disconcerting that the Commander in Chief was unaware of the complexity and daunting challenge we face in the Asia-Pacific region until speaking with Xi Jinping, the President of China.
The lack of understanding about North Korea may help explain why the Administration's intensifying rhetoric has not been accompanied by a serious plan for deescalating tensions and moving forward in a meaningful way to counter North Korea. As your Senator, I will continue asking tough questions about our nation's military and diplomatic strategy in the Asia-Pacific region and I am committed to making sure the American people have a say, through their representatives in Congress, in decisions concerning the use of military force.
Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue. If you would like more information on my work in the Senate, please visit my website at
www.duckworth.senate.gov. You can access my voting record and see what I am doing to address today’s most important issues. I hope that you will continue to share your views and opinions with me and let me know whenever I may be of assistance to you.
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