[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              NORTH KOREA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, North Korea's determined effort to 
field a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile threatens the 
United States and our allies. By all appearances, Kim Jong Un has 
broken from a predictable cycle of escalation demonstrated by previous 
leaders by which the regime takes a provocative action, draws the 
United States into a negotiation, and extracts concessions. Instead, 
Kim appears willing to risk the disapproval of the U.N. and our 
regional allies by undertaking a breakneck testing program.
  The President has made clear that a North Korea that is armed with a 
nuclear-armed missile--a capability they have yet to test--is 
unacceptable to us and threatens our vital national security interest. 
Thus, in order to allow the Senate to better understand this threat, I 
asked the administration to brief all Senators on the issue, and the 
President graciously offered to hold the meeting down at the White 
House. I encourage all of our colleagues to attend this afternoon's 
meeting on North Korea down at the White House.

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