Transcript: Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, On Trump-Kim Summit
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and other top Democrats sent a letter to President Trump yesterday, laying out five tough demands ahead of Trump's summit with North Korea later this month, including "verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program." Schumer spoke with NPR's Rachel Martin on Monday afternoon in his office at the Capitol.
Rachel Martin: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.
Sen. Chuck Schumer: Great to be here.
You and other top Democrats have sent this letter to President Trump outlining how you think his administration should move forward in negotiations with North Korea. You agree that the goal should be quote "complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program." As part of that, you write, "No concessions should be granted that could undermine our core alliance commitments or our posture in the region." Are you concerned that the Trump administration would offer concessions without getting enough in return?
Yeah, the worry we have is the president will be so eager for quote, "an agreement," that it won't protect the security, first and foremost, of the United States.
When you have North Korea with ICBM capability and nuclear capability, it's extremely dangerous to have an agreement that doesn't dismantle that and remove the
