Kasich "very, very concerned" about North Korea summit, says U.S. must be "extremely careful"
Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he is "very, very concerned" about the upcoming meeting with North Korea, and hopes negotiations and any possible future agreement aren't just a "PR show."
The Republican made the comments on CBS News' "Face the Nation," after President Trump announced he is reinstating the June 12th meeting with North Korea in Singapore, days after canceling it. Mr. Trump declared the summit a go after meeting with top North Korean official Kim Yong Chol at the White House, before he had even read a letter delivered from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kasich emphasized that the U.S. cannot "let the pressure up" on North Korea, even as Mr. Trump said there will be no new sanctions.
"I'm very, very concerned about this upcoming meeting with North Korea," Kasich told "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan. "I think this is a seminal meeting. I think we have to be extremely careful. And I don't think we should give anything away to these people. They have misled us. Every time we've entered an agreement they've backed away from it. They've misled us and we cannot let the pressure up on North Korea. So you know, promises don't matter."
"To me [there] has to be a verifiable agreement ... a verifiable agreement, and if we relax the sanctions at all, we ought to be committed to be able to reimpose them if the North Koreans break their word. This is very, very serious, Margaret," Kasich continued. "If you let the pressure up, I am very, very fearful that we will just find ourselves in this same situation or a worse situation down the road. I'm glad they're talking. I'm glad they're meeting. But don't let the pressure up until we get verifiable results. Anything other than that will weaken our position and strengthen them."
The Ohio governor said the U.S. "can't be in a hurry to get to an agreement," alluding to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as an example of a deal made too quickly.
"If we can get some verifiable agreements, fine, we can loosen things but there has to be a real gain and not just a PR show," he said. "That's just not going to work for the best interests of our country and the world."
