Presidential contender Mitt Romney forcefully criticized North Korea’s failed rocket launch Thursday night and said inept White House policy toward the rogue nation helped fuel its outrageous behavior.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the attempted North Korean missile launch," Romney said in a statement,
The Hill reports. "Although the missile test failed, Pyongyang's action is another blatant violation of unanimous U.N. Security Council resolutions and demonstrates once again that Pyongyang is committed to developing long-range missiles with the potential of carrying nuclear weapons."
But President Barack Obama’s earlier willingness to provide food aid and engage in negotiations with North Korea is a large part of the problem, Romney said.
"Instead of approaching Pyongyang from a position of strength, President Obama sought to appease the regime with a food-aid deal that proved to be as naïve as it was short-lived," he said. The administration nuked the food deal after North Korea announced the rocket test.
"At the same time, he has cut critical U.S. missile defense programs and continues to underfund them,” Romney said. This incompetence from the Obama Administration has emboldened the North Korean regime and undermined the security of the United States and our allies."
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