The only way the tension with North Korea will come to a happy ending is if the Asian country changes its course, and China is the key to making that happen, Sen. Ben Cardin said Wednesday.
"I would suggest to use economic pressure," the Maryland Democrat told NBC's Andrea Mitchell on her MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" program. "What North Korea wants is economic relief and security."
Cardin said he hopes that when the Senate meets with President Donald Trump and administration leaders at the White House later in the day, he will hear what the strategy and game plan are for dealing with North Korea, and how to get inspectors on the ground to keep the country from becoming a nuclear power.
The senator also discussed the president's decision to toughen the Iran nuclear deal's provisions, saying that that personally, he did not see anything that caused him to be concerned.
"We will be aggressive against Iran for its terrorism, for its ballistic missile violations," said Cardin. "I urge the president that as long as Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement, it's in our best interest."
However, he said he would not advocate canceling the nuclear agreement, even though he voted against it.
"Many of us recognize it is an agreement and that we need to make sure it is complied with so Iran never becomes a nuclear weapons state," said Cardin, who believes it would be "counterproductive" to cancel it.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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