U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week” that “there is no turnaround” in President Donald Trump’s policies on North Korea despite his welcome on Saturday of potential direct talks with the belligerent nation.
Trump said during a press conference Saturday at Camp David that he looks forward to North Korea and South Korea’s engaging in talks on Tuesday, amid a noticeable thawing in relations between the two countries.
Saying he wants “to see it work out between the two countries,” Trump said he is open to talking with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un because “I always believe in talking.”
Trump had previously expressed doubts about the efficacy of further talks.
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“There is no turnaround,” Haley said. What [Trump] has basically said is yes, there could be a time where we talk to North Korea, but a lot of things have to happen before that actually takes place. They have to stop testing. They have to be willing to talk about banning their nuclear weapons. Those things have to happen.”
She added, “What we’re trying to do is make sure we don’t repeat what’s happened the last 25 years, which is [they] start to act like they’re coming to the table, [they] ask for a lot of money and then [they] cheat their way through. We’re going to be smart this time.”
Haley emphasized the U.S. is “going to make sure that whatever happens makes the United States safer and make sure that we denuclearize the peninsula.”
North Korean and South Korean officials are expected to discuss the 2018 Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Haley said she didn’t expect the two nations to talk about any other issues, noting it would be “good for the United States” if the two countries “can at least start getting back into talks.”
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Sunday on “Fox News Sunday” that “we’ll see how the talks go on Tuesday,” and reiterated that “the American position is unchanged” on how to deal with North Korea.
Pompeo said North Koreans are in a “tough spot” because Trump “has made very clear that the U.S. policy is denuclearization of the peninsula and that we’re going to achieve that.”
Further complicating the situation for the North Koreans, Pompeo said, is that “North Koreans are behaving out of fear.”
Further complicating the situation for the North Koreans, Pompeo said, is that “North Koreans are behaving out of fear. That is, they are very concerned that America for the first time in an awfully long time is serious about denuclearizing the peninsula.”
Haley and Pompeo were both asked about a recent Trump tweet concerning North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s comment that he has a nuclear button on his desk. “Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” said Trump on Twitter.
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When George Stephanopoulos of ABC asked Haley if Trump’s comment hurt the United States’ “credibility” with allies, she said it’s “very clear” to U.S. allies that “we know what the hell we’re doing.”
The North Koreans know “we’re not letting up on the pressure. We’re not going to let them go and dramatize the fact that they have a button right on their desk and they can destroy America,” Haley said. “We want to always remind them we can destroy you, too, so be very cautious and careful with your words and what you do.”
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It’s very important that Trump “always has to keep Kim on his toes,” Haley also said.
When Chris Wallace of Fox News asked Pompeo about the tweet, the CIA director said that tweet “is entirely consistent with what we’re trying to communicate. We want the regime to understand that unlike before, we are intent on resolving this and it is our firm conviction that resolving this diplomatically is the correct answer — but that this administration is prepared to do what it takes to ensure that the people in Los Angeles, in Denver and New York aren’t held at risk from Kim Jong-un having a nuclear weapon.”
PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.
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