Boston (August 28, 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 that North Korea is building new submarines capable of launching nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. 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 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.

“President Trump’s claim that his personal relationship with Kim Jong Un will denuclearize North Korea has more holes in it than his North Korea sanctions regime,” said Senator Markey. “Ballistic missile submarines are yet another area where North Korea continues to make rapid progress toward an advanced and capable nuclear arsenal. Kim Jong Un is acting with impunity while the Trump administration sits on its hands. In addition to failing to codify in writing a nuclear and missile testing freeze, President Trump has neglected to maintain the regular designations required to make existing sanctions effective.

“We all want negotiations to succeed, but the Trump administration must recognize that its wishful thinking is no match for the well-worn Kim family playbook. Fully empowering American diplomats should be our top priority in working to denuclearize North Korea.” 

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