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Bernie Sanders says he would intervene if China took military action against Taiwan

Sanders says he would meet with Kim Jong Un
Bernie Sanders says he would meet with Kim Jong Un as president 01:21

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says there would "absolutely" be situations where military action is warranted if he's elected president. In an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper, Sanders laid out the criteria for when he would use the armed forces.

"Threats against the American people, to be sure. Threats against our allies. I believe in NATO," Sanders said. "I believe that the United States, everything being equal, should be working with other countries in alliance, not doing it alone."

Cooper asked Sanders if China taking military action against Taiwan would elicit a military response from the United States.

"That's something, yeah," Sanders said. "I mean I think we have got to make it clear to countries around the world that we will not sit by and allow invasions to take place, absolutely."

Sanders also said he would meet with Kim Jong Un as president.

"Yeah. I mean I've criticized Trump for everything... under the sun," Sanders said. "But meeting with people who are antagonistic is, to me, not a bad thing to do. I think, unfortunately, Trump went into that meeting unprepared. I think it was a photo opportunity and did not have the-- kind of the diplomatic work necessary to make it a success.  But I do not have a problem with sitting down with adversaries all over the world."

See the 60 Minutes story on Sanders, tonight at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

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