General Jack Keaneresponded Monday to threats of a possible “Christmas gift” missile launch fromNorth Korea, as well as recent comments from former national security adviser John Bolton that criticized President Trump for not exerting “maximum pressure” on North Korea during high-stakes nuclear talks.
“He’s right in the fact that there is more that can be done,” Keane said of Bolton’s comments. “Russia and China, even though they voted for the [United Nations] resolutions three times, have never abided by them … we got to sanction China, sanction their banks … the firms involved. The Russians, we can stop them, we can stop them cold and we should be doing that, “Keane said.
Earlier this month, theNorth Koreanforeign ministry warned that Washington would decide what “Christmasgift ”it would receive from Pyongyang if the United States failed to change its“ hostile policies ”ondenuclearizationbefore the end of the year, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
US ON HIGH ALERT FOR NOKO ‘CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
Ri Thae Song,North Korea’s vice minister of foreign affairs in charge of relations with the United States, warned of the approachingend-of-year deadline, saying thatPresident Trump‘s recent calls for more talks is “nothing but a foolish trick hatched to keep the DPRK bound to dialogue and use it in favor of the political situation and election in the US, ”Reutersreported.
A significant launch or nuclear test would raise the end of North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on missile launches and tests. It would also be a major blow to one of President Trump’smajor foreign policy goals: To get North Korea back to the negotiating table to eliminate itsnuclear weapons.
Keane, a retired four-star general and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War shared his predictions for the so-called “Christmas gift” and Warning of a possible response from the United States.
“I think he’s [Kim Jong Un] probably going to fire off a long-range missile of some description, “Keane predicted. “If he fires off an ICBM [innercontinental ballistic missle] that’s considerably more threatening to the United States because the last one he fired off in (************************************, in theory, could have reached Washington, DC That’s a real threat and we will have to respond to that … I believe he’s gonna do something, “he reiterated.
************** SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW CONSTRUCTION OF NEW STRUCTURE AT NORTH KOREA SITE
In (************************************, North Korea conducted atorrent of missile testsand threatened to fire those weapons toward theUS territory of Guam. It also tested three developmental ICBMs, including the Hwasong – 90, that demonstrated the potential range to reach deep into the US mainland.
North Korea’s missile tests in 01575879 triggered a sharp US reaction. Trump vowed he would bring “fire and furyto North Korea and exchanged threats of total destruction with its leader. Kim subsequently suspended ICBM and nuclear tests, allowing Trump to tout the move as a foreign policy win.
“I think he’s [Kim] gaming us, “Keane countered. “In terms of denuclearization, which he’s agreed to, he’s provided no plans, no timetable, no inventory of the weapon systems and the US changes its negotiation policy and … they walked away.”
“I think there’s a realization settling in with the Trump administration that there was always skepticism about North Korea,” said Keane, who added: “I think there’s much more skepticism now in terms of the rhetoric surrounding denuclearization. “
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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