President Donald Trump "deserves all the credit" for advancing the peace process on the Korean peninsula to this point, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday.
McConnell appeared on Fox News and was asked about the situation involving North Korea and Trump's pursuit of denuclearizing the reclusive nation.
"We have watched administrations of both parties not be able to achieve what we have all hoped for in North Korea," McConnell said. "That is a peninsula without nuclear weapons. So, this is as close as we have ever come. I think everybody is a little bit cautious when dealing with the North Koreans for the obvious reasons.
"This is significant that we have gotten this far, and the president deserves all the credit for getting them in a different position from anytime they have been in this position in the past, whether it was this guy's father or grandfather. They were always unmovable on any of these type of issues."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to North Korea on Tuesday, and during his visit he picked up three Americans who were being held there. A plane carrying Pompeo and the former prisoners is due to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base late Wednesday night.
Trump is also scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks for an historic peace summit.
Regarding the Iran nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew the U.S. on Tuesday, McConnell said he believes Trump will be able to hash out a better agreement that prevents Iran from creating a nuclear weapon.
"I think President Trump will make a better deal," McConnell said. "The Iran nuclear deal was not submitted to the Senate as a treaty because [former] President [Barack Obama] knew he couldn't get the votes. So, he made an executive branch agreement with the Iranians, which the next president could feel free to walk away from.
"It was a hopelessly flawed agreement. Trump did the right thing."
McConnell added if the Senate must get involved in deciding how to punish Iran should it violate terms of the nuclear agreement, the proper response would be sanctions.
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