[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2373-S2374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              North Korea

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I have been pleased to hear about the 
progress in the planned negotiations with North Korea over their 
nuclear program. I was glad to hear of Director Pompeo's successful 
visit to North Korea, and I, as much as anyone in this body, wishes the 
administration success in these talks and negotiations. Given the 
history of broken promises, I have my

[[Page S2374]]

doubts as to whether the North Korean regime has any genuine interest 
or willingness to denuclearize, but even a freeze will be welcome.
  However, I am concerned about the language used by the President 
today when discussing the North Korean regime. To say that Kim Jong Un 
has been ``very open'' or ``very honorable,'' as the President did, 
surpasses understanding. If this description of one of the world's 
strongman dictators were a singular event, a one-off statement, it 
could perhaps be excused as an aberration, but, unfortunately, it is 
not. It is part of a larger pattern of excusing dictatorial behavior 
that we should not countenance.
  We need not sacrifice the truth and reject objective reality in 
pursuit of our goals. We cannot pretend that the Kim Jong Un of today 
is somehow different from the authoritarian dictator who has ruled over 
one of the most violent and repressive regimes on Earth.
  I am happy to hear that the North Korean Government is apparently 
engaging as an honest broker in the process of arranging these talks, 
but I believe that how the President of the United States describes 
world leaders matters. For the President to describe a leader who 
stands credibly accused of starving his own people, violently executing 
his political opponents, and murdering members of his own family as 
``very open'' and ``very honorable'' is beyond comprehension. 
Furthermore, it undermines the moral authority we have long possessed 
on the world stage.
  The President himself has previously declared Kim Jong Un as 
``obviously a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his own 
people.'' The President has also repeatedly and correctly referred to 
the North Korean regime's violent torture of Otto Warmbier as 
``horrible.'' The pursuit of these negotiations does not require that 
we surrender the values we stand for as a nation.
  We cannot pretend the atrocities of the Northern Korean regime are a 
thing of the past. We need to enter these negotiations with our eyes 
wide open. We must understand and recognize who it is we are sitting 
across the table from. Only then do I believe we will actually succeed 
in these negotiations and emerge from this planned summit with the 
result we all seek--a safer world.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.