Senator urged Secretary Tillerson to use today’s UN Security Council meeting to coordinate strategy with China and allies to pressure Pyongyang

Washington (April 28, 2017) – As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting on North Korea, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) welcomed Secretary Tillerson’s openness to direct negotiations with North Korea. Senator Markey, the top Democrat on the East Asian Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, wrote to Secretary Tillerson to reiterate his call for negotiations as the only realistic path toward solving the problem of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Senator Markey also cautioned that President Trump’s offhanded comments about a “major, major conflict with North Korea” needlessly raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula and increases the risks of an accidental war.

“I welcome Secretary Tillerson’s admission that direct negotiations are the only way to eliminate the threat of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs,” said Senator Markey. “The President’s talk of war and inconsistent messages from administration officials can only fuel Kim Jong Un’s paranoia and increases the chances of an accidental war that could kill millions of people on the Korean Peninsula. And instead of the President’s damaging and disrespectful rhetoric towards South Korea, we need to reaffirm and strengthen our alliance with this key partner that is home to millions of people, including American troops and their families.”

In a letter Senator Markey sent this week to Secretary Tillerson in advance of today’s United Nations Security Council, he wrote:

“By making diplomatic engagement, in coordination with our allies and China, a principal component of your North Korea strategy, you will create the opportunity to peaceably resolve the North Korea nuclear and missile threat while avoiding a military catastrophe that leads to untold destruction and death. I urge you to seize this opportunity at the United Nations while there is still time to do so.”

A copy of Senator Markey’s letter can be found HERE. 

Earlier this month, Senator Markey sent a letter to President Trump on the eve of this meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for a coordinated Sino-American action. Senator Markey has previously warned that threats of preemptive action could increase the risk of inadvertent nuclear and conventional war on the Korean Peninsula. In March, Senators Markey and Al Franken (D-Minn.) called on President Trump to adopt a bold new approach toward North Korea combining negotiations, sanctions, and deterrence.

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