Washington (August 1, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the East Asia Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement following media reports of another North Korean projectile launch, one of several in recent weeks. Senators Markey and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) recently introduced the Leverage to Enhance Effective Diplomacy (LEED) Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to economically and diplomatically pressure North Korea and its enablers through the imposition of sanctions; to authorize efforts to combat Pyongyang’s widespread human rights and labor trafficking abuses; and to support the Administration’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the North Korea regime.

“The Trump administration should recognize that every new missile launch by North Korea is yet another play from the same old Kim family playbook,” said Senator Markey. “Not only has President Trump failed to codify in writing a nuclear and missile testing freeze, but when he says he has ‘no problem’ with shorter range missile launches, he gives North Korea a green light to violate UN Security Council resolutions and threaten our allies. Instead of willfully ignoring these launches, President Trump and Secretary Pompeo must strongly and definitively call on North Korea to halt these provocations.

“We all want negotiations to succeed, but the Trump administration is engaged in wishful thinking about how theatrics will restart working-level talks with the Kim regime. North Korea refuses to meet with our Secretary of State and skipped a key diplomatic opportunity this week. When the President himself publicly urges his own government agencies to give his ‘good friend’ Kim Jong Un a free pass, he undermines the pressure campaign that is supposed to be the backbone of his strategy.” 

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