Sen. Coons: “It's important for President Trump to tweet less and coordinate closely with our regional allies, South Korea and Japan, and to carefully calibrate statements, threats, and actions.”

Sen. Coons: “That's a very high threat level, indeed, and I think this is exactly the sort of thing that calls for measured, careful but decisive American leadership in the region.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees, joined Wolf Blitzer on CNN to discuss recent breaking news regarding North Korea and the Special Counsel Integrity Act, which he introduced last week with Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

“I was reminded that, as a candidate, President Trump promised that he would be unpredictable and unconventional. And, his first seven months in office have certainly demonstrated that he has kept to that promise. I think this is a very dangerous moment. It's important for our president not to be unpredictable,” said Senator Coons. “It's important for President Trump to tweet less and coordinate closely with our regional allies, South Korea and Japan, and to carefully calibrate statements, threats, and actions. It's clear that the response from North Korea could impose punishing losses on South Korean civilians, potentially on American troops in the Korean peninsula. So I think we need to proceed very carefully.”

“At the same time that we prepare for a possible military confrontation with North Korea, it’s my hope that we’re continuing an all-hands-on-deck diplomatic front in order to push China to take a more decisive role here in pressing the North Korean regime to take down its rhetoric and to step back from further confrontation with South Korea, Japan and the United States,” said Senator Coons. “I think we should engage in direct talks as long as the possibility of their relinquishing their nuclear weapons ambitions is on the table for negotiation.”

Full audio and video available here.

Excerpts from the interview:

Senator Coons on President Trump’s comments regarding North Korea: Well, I was reminded that, as a candidate, President Trump promised that he would be unpredictable and unconventional. And, his first seven months in office have certainly demonstrated that he has kept to that promise. I think this is a very dangerous moment. It's important for our president not to be unpredictable. It's important for President Trump to tweet less and coordinate closely with our regional allies, South Korea and Japan, and to carefully calibrate statements, threats, and actions. It's clear that the response from North Korea could impose punishing losses on South Korean civilians, potentially on American troops in the Korean peninsula. So I think we need to proceed very carefully. I'll congratulate the Trump administration on having secured a 15-0 vote in the United Nations Security Council last weekend and moving forward with tough sanctions on North Korea, but I think this is a time for us to redouble our diplomatic efforts with China and to make sure that we are coordinating closely with our regional allies to avoid a miscalculation.

More on President Trump’s comments: As you just discussed in this segment, North Korea is known for having an isolated leadership. Kim Jong-un is 35 years old, we think, we don’t even know his exact birthday. He’s only been in control of the country since 2011. He’s given to very bellicose, aggressive rhetoric. He's now, according to some intelligence reports, managed to marry their recent nuclear developments and ICBM developments with potentially an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the American homeland. This is a very destabilizing development. I think we need to proceed carefully, and President Trump needs to deliver a clear strategy to the American people, and certainly to his partners in Congress, so that we can move forward in a way that is measured, thoughtful, and doesn’t lead to an unexpected conflict with North Korea.

More on North Korea: I can only repeat to you open-source reporting, which, as you’ve already covered, is somewhere between 2-dozen and 50 or 60. In any event, they certainly have dozens of nuclear warheads and they’ve detonated several in recent years, so, I don't think we can question whether or not North Korea has nuclear weapons. The question is can they accurately deliver them and this makes them an increasingly destabilized Korean peninsula and region. The likelihood they could strike the American homeland makes this an extremely dangerous situation and one where I hope the president will proceed cautiously. 

Senator Coons on whether there is a good military option on the table: There is no good military option. Because North Korea has thousands, I think roughly 8,000 artillery and rocket pieces that are embedded deeply in the hillside north of Seoul, they could exact a punishing revenge on South Korea almost immediately after a first strike by the United States. So there is no good or easy option here. A conflict with North Korea would not be quick, would not be painless, but we do have to measure the very real possibility that North Korea's dictator might directly threaten America's homeland and our civilian population. That's a very high threat level, indeed, and I think this is exactly the sort of thing that calls for measured, careful but decisive American leadership in the region. 

Senator Coons on whether he believes North Korea will retaliate: I believe that Kim Jong-un is someone who believes his back is to the wall, who has been raised in a country that has believed for decades that the United States would like to affect a regime change, so I think this paranoid, militaristic, and capable young leader is someone whose threats we should take very seriously. 

More on North Korea: I'm not sure exactly how Secretary Tillerson is proceeding on his diplomatic strategy with North Korea. My hope would be we later learn there were side meetings and that there are side channels being explored. At the same time that we prepare for a possible military confrontation with North Korea, it’s my hope that we’re continuing an all-hands-on-deck diplomatic front in order to push China to take a more decisive role here in pressing the North Korean regime to take down its rhetoric and to step back from further confrontation with South Korea, Japan and the United States.  I think we should engage in direct talks as long as the possibility of their relinquishing their nuclear weapons ambitions is on the table for negotiation. 

More on North Korea: Well, I think they misperceive America’s aggressive stance towards them. We’ve previously made statements that regime change is not our goal. Secretary Tillerson has recently made statements that we don’t intend to invade North Korea, we don’t intend to seek regime change in North Korea. So I do think there are things we can discuss. But I also think we need to be prepared for the worst. We need to recognize that North Korea is an isolated, heavily militarized nation that is paranoid and that sees threats all around it. Even China- who is amping up its pressure against North Korea by joining with the United States and Russia in a UN Security Council- imposed sanctions regime- has not persuaded them to back off. So this is a very difficult and treacherous situation.

Senator Coons on President Trump’s comments about the Russia investigation: That seems an odd choice. I really think that the best course of action for the President is to stay away from the Russia investigation and Special Counsel Mueller all together. Allow him to conduct his investigation and to reach whatever conclusion the evidence justifies. As you know, I introduced a bipartisan bill with Republican Senator Thom Tillis just before we went out for Augustin order to buttress Special Counsel Mueller and to make sure that a strong bipartisan signal was sent to protect him from any sort of interference from the Executive.

Senator Coons on Special Counsel Mueller and his bill: We don't have a commitment yet from the Committee Chairman. Senator Tillis has reached out to Chairman Grassley, I’ve heard from Ranking Member Feinstein, she’s willing to go ahead and support the bill, and I'm waiting to hear from Senator Tillis about how their conversation went. There is another bill that Senators Graham and Booker also introduced right before we left that similarly protects the Special Counsel, and I think that suggests a widening number of senators interested in this topic and willing to legislate to protect Special Council Bob Mueller from any interference. 

More on the bill: I do intend to reach out to the Chairman as well. And given the way that Chairman Grassley has conducted himself in leading the Judiciary Committee in pursuing obstruction of justice and pursuing some of the leads around failure to report for former senior administration officials, I think he is interested in acting to defend this investigation. The judiciary committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Justice, and the Chairman has acted actively to make sure that the jurisdiction of the Committee is protected, and I would expect him to ultimately come to a point of being supported. 

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