Ed Markey: “I come to the floor to share my deep concern over what appears to be the Trump administration's intention to go to war…”

“I come to the floor to share my deep concern over what appears to be the Trump administration's intention to go to war with North Korea. North Korea may have bent over backward to appear conciliatory during the recently concluded Winter Olympics in South Korea, but the Kim Jong Un regime has not stopped its dangerous activities--far from it. North Korea is a serious and ever-worsening threat to its people, to our allies and partners in the region, and to the United States, but the responsible course of action is to use all tools of American statecraft to reduce those threats. We have an obligation to American families, servicemembers, and our allies to say, unequivocally, that we did everything in our power to curb North Korea's dangerous behavior without resorting to armed conflict. Instead, I fear that the Trump administration is beating the drums of war. While the North Korean regime was all smiles during the Olympics, its malign behavior continued. Engineers race to perfect a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korean laborers around the world--modern-day indentured servants--sent paychecks home to the regime, helping fund its illicit military programs. Illegal ship-to- ship transfers of refined petroleum products continued. North Korea's army of cyber warriors grew ever more capable.…”