Following North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) said that every step North Korea takes to provoke the United States and its allies proves more needs to be done to curb its behavior.
Gardner, the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, called for a support of a sanctions bill he introduced in July after an intercontinental ballistic missile test revealed North Korea’s potential to reach the United States.
The bill would prevent those who enable North Korea from accessing the U.S. financial system, and it would impose sanctions on those who participate in North Korean labor trafficking.
“With its latest successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, North Korea has demonstrated intent and capability to hit the U.S. homeland — and as President Trump said, we must never allow this to happen,” Gardner said in July.
“We must take every diplomatic and economic measure now to stop North Korea and to prevent nuclear war. My bipartisan legislation gives those that currently conduct trade with North Korea a clear choice – either do business with this heinous outlaw regime or do business with the world’s leading economic and military power,” he said.
On Tuesday, Gardner called North Korea’s latest missile launch over Japan “reckless” and said it’s intended to drive conflict. He also called on China and Russia to “finally join us to pressure North Korea into peaceful denuclearization.”