Cardin: Pressure From China, Russia Best Option on NKorea

President Donald Trump's tough talk has not changed North Korea's calculations, and the best option remains for him to engage China and possibly Russia to put pressure on the country and its leader, Kim Jong Un, Sen. Ben Cardin said Monday.

"I think the military options are somewhat limited because of the risk factors involving South Korea, involving Japan," the Maryland Democrat told CNN's "New Day" program. "What the president needs to do is engage China and hopefully Russia to put the type of pressure on North Korea that changes their calculations. We haven't seen that, and that's our best option rather than a military option."

Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he does agree with Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, who told CNN's "State of the Union" program Sunday that he has confidence in Trump's national security team, including Defense Secretary James Mattis and others, as the United States needs someone "measured and sober and consistent and conservative" when it comes to North Korea.

"Gen. Mattis certainly has given us a great deal of confidence here," said Cardin. "He's in charge of our military option. He's the first to acknowledge that that should not be used only as a matter of last resort. What we really need to do is see a surge in diplomacy. We need to see the United States effectively change China's attitude towards North Korea. That would change North Korea's calculation, but without that, we're heading towards a catastrophic result here."

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