North Korea’s Nuclear Arsenal Is More Advanced Than Ever
August 25, 2020
Mike Pompeo just claimed that Trump “lowered the temperature” with North Korea, but he has actually made us less safe. Trump made no progress toward denuclearization, and in fact, North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs are larger and more advanced than ever. His hollow summitry also gave the North Korean regime the legitimacy it sought. Americans got nothing in return.
North Korea is more dangerous than ever after continuing to expand its nuclear and missile programs.
New York Times: “In May of last year, North Korea broke an 18-month hiatus in weapons tests, conducting 18 tests of mostly short-range ballistic missiles and rockets since. In December, it conducted two ground tests at its missile engine test site to bolster what it called its ‘nuclear deterrent.’ Later that month, Mr. Kim said that his country no longer felt bound by its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, and threatened to unveil a new strategic weapon.”
New York Times: “The estimates vary, but most conclude the North has amassed enough fuel for about 20 nuclear weapons in the time since the two men strolled through a garden in Singapore for the ultimate post-Cold War photo opportunity.”
Trump made no substantive progress toward denuclearization.
New York Times: “Two years after Trump-Kim meeting, little to show for personal diplomacy”
Trump gave North Korea a pass on testing ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. resolutions.
CNN: “And observers point to the fact the President has given Kim a pass in recent months after Pyongyang launched a series of missile tests, pointing to a halt in nuclear tests as evidence that his diplomatic efforts were working.”
Trump got nothing out of his North Korea summits, but he gave Kim legitimacy on the world stage.
Washington Post: “And what do we have to show for that historic concession and propaganda win for Kim? Not any official concession from the North Koreans. What we do have, though, is a potential moving of the goal posts — away from a fully denuclearized Korean Peninsula.”