US senator says America must not attack North Korea if talks fail, despite security chief John Bolton’s advice
A pre-emptive strike is believed to be favoured by US security head John Bolton, who has said the only option is ‘to end the regime in North Korea’ and strike first
A top US Democratic senator has lashed out against the idea of a pre-emptive military strike by America on North Korea if upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un fail to produce significant results.
The option is believed to be widely favoured by Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton and other members of the president’s increasingly hawkish cabinet.
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Bolton declared in a Fox News interview last year that the only option left to address the North Korean nuclear challenge is “to end the regime in North Korea” and strike first.
But Edward Markey, the top Democrat on the Senate East Asia subcommittee, told an Atlantic Council event on Friday that “a failed Trump-Kim summit cannot become a stepping stone for a war, preventive or otherwise, initiated by the United States”.
“Diplomacy backed by pressure is the only way to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis,” Markey said. “Should the talks collapse, however, a preventive strike still will not be justified.”