June 20, 2018

Castro Statement on Pentagon Decision to Suspend Joint U.S.-South Korea Military Exercises

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, today made the following statement:

“Last week, President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un held a meeting to discuss dismantlement of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The established agreement fell short on details and commitments from North Korea. The President also unilaterally conceded U.S. participation in military exercises with our South Korean allies, resulting in today’s announced cancellation of military exercises with Seoul through August. These exercises keep our two countries secure and improve our ability to defend the over 200,000 U.S. citizens who live in South Korea. This unilateral concession threatens our longstanding alliance without anything in return and I urge the Administration to reverse this decision immediately.

“As we forge ahead to address North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, we must be clear and transparent about the concessions we make while maintaining leverage to achieve complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of those programs. The Administration must brief Congress immediately on the path forward, including a specific timeline for North Korean commitments marshal regional and international support to continue applying pressure on North Korea through sanctions and diplomatic action, and swiftly nominate key diplomatic posts that will carry these negotiations forward at the State Department. Only then will be see lasting peace to the Peninsula.”

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