Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia Cory Gardner (R-CO) responded to news this week that North Korea is claiming to have tested a hydrogen bomb at its Sungjibaegam test site.
“I am monitoring the news developing out of the Korean Peninsula, and hope to have a clearer picture soon of what exactly has occurred,” Gardner said. “Provocation and belligerence from the dictator in Pyongyang is nothing new. The testing of a hydrogen bomb, however, would serve as a reminder of the danger posed to the world by this often-forgotten maniac who leads a government that grips to power by fear, intimidation, and murder.”
Gardner has also introduced legislation aimed at imposing tough, new, targeted sanctions against North Korea’s regime with a goal of ending the regime.
“With so much attention being paid to events in the Middle East, it’s important the U.S. and our allies also act on the risk posed to us all by the nuclear-armed madman named Kim Jong Un,” Gardner said. “Events like this are a symptom of a failed foreign policy. The Obama administration’s stance on Russia, Syria, and especially Iran has sent a clear message to dictators and despots around the world: if you act badly enough, for long enough, this administration will reward your behavior. It’s time for that to stop. It’s time for the United States to provide the leadership that the world so desperately requires.”
During his time in the Senate, Gardner has been a leader on the issue of North Korea, urging the Obama administration in April to take action following reports of the expansion of North Korea’s nuclear stockpile. He then introduced a resolution in May calling for new sanctions against North Korea for its long history of human rights abuses, military threats and international law violations.
Gardner met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in August to discuss the threat of North Korea and introduced sweeping new sanctions legislation against the regime in October.