[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 26, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              North Korea

  Mr. President, later today, the Senate will be receiving a briefing 
by the administration on the situation in North Korea. I look forward 
to the opportunity to hear from the Secretary of State, who I 
understand drafted the administration's plan, and other senior 
administration officials about their views on North Korea and the 
posture of the United States in that region.
  I think what many of my colleagues hope to hear articulated is a 
coherent, well-thought-out, strategic plan. So far, Congress and the 
American public have heard very little in the way of strategy with 
respect to North Korea. We have heard very little about strategy to 
combat ISIS. We have heard very little about a strategy on how to deal 
with Putin's Russia. We have heard very little about our strategy in 
Syria. Only a few weeks ago, the President authorized a strike in 
Syria. Is there a broader strategy? Does the administration support 
regime change or not? Do they plan further U.S. involvement?
  These are difficult and important questions, and there are many more 
of them to be asked and answered about this administration's nascent 
national security policy for hotspots around the globe. I hope that 
later today, at least in relation to North Korea, we Senators are given 
a serious, well-considered outline of the administration's strategic 
goals in the Korean peninsula and their plans to achieve them.