President Donald Trump declared North Korea an “unusual and extraordinary threat” in a notice to Congress Friday.
Following in the footsteps of the Bush and Obama administrations, the Trump administration has decided to extend the tough penalties and restrictions on North Korea for the period of one year. The president’s notice highlights longstanding concerns, such as North Korea’s pursuit of ballistic missiles and nuclear missiles, the risk of proliferation, regional aggression, and the repressive actions of the government.
“The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” the president explained in his notice to Congress.
The move, while consistent with the actions of past presidents, stands in stark contradiction with something the president tweeted after his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, where the two leaders discussed the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as the need for improved bilateral relations between the U.S. and North Korea.
“There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea,” Trump tweeted as he returned to the U.S. “President [Barack] Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer – sleep well tonight!” (RELATED: Trump Declares End To North Korean ‘Nuclear Threat’)
“Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!” the president, operating on limited sleep, added in a follow-up tweet.
It is unclear how North Korea, which presently remains in possession of its arsenal of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles, will respond to the president’s decision to extend the harsh restrictions that have long hampered the regime.
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