[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2600-S2601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              Release of American Hostages in North Korea

  Madam President, on another matter--North Korea--early this morning, 
the three American hostages who were being held in North Korea were 
returned home. It was great to see them come home, back in America, 
back with their families.

[[Page S2601]]

  It is a wonderful thing, but the exultation by the President and 
others of the greatness of North Korea doing this evades me. We can't 
be fooled into giving the North Korean regime credit for returning 
Americans who never should have been detained in the first place. 
American citizens are not diplomatic bargaining chips. While we 
celebrate the return of the three Americans, for the sake of their 
freedom and their families, we should not feel as if we need to give 
Kim Jong Un anything in return.
  It is troubling to hear President Trump say that Kim Jong Un treated 
the Americans excellently. Kim Jong Un is a dictator. He capriciously 
detained American citizens, robbed them of their freedom, and didn't 
let them go home to their families. Their release should not be 
exalted; it should be expected. It is no great accomplishment of Kim 
Jong Un to do this.
  When the President does this, he weakens American foreign policy and 
puts Americans at risk around the world. If our adversaries look at 
what the President has said in reaction to Kim Jong Un, why shouldn't 
they detain American citizens and get a huge pat on the back when they 
release them?
  It is like so many of the President's foreign policy actions--quick, 
not thought through, related to show and to ego. If our adversaries 
from Iran to China who already wrongfully hold Americans think they can 
get something--praise, standing, diplomatic concessions--by unlawfully 
detaining Americans in their country, you can bet they will try. These 
are bad people, the leaders of these dictatorships like Iran.
  So I caution the administration. We are all rooting for diplomacy to 
succeed on the Korean Peninsula, but we cannot sacrifice the safety of 
American citizens around the world in exchange for an illusory veneer 
of peace. I worry that this President, in his eagerness to get acclaim 
and a photo op, will strike a quick and bad deal, not a strong and 
lasting one. President Trump and Secretary Pompeo must seek strong, 
verifiable, enduring commitments from North Korea to disarm.