Reed: ‘Preposterous’ for Trump to say North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said on Sunday that President Trump’s statement that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat is “preposterous.”

“North Korea is a nuclear threat,” Reed told “Fox News Sunday.”

“The president’s statement was absolutely, in my view, preposterous,” he added.

Trump last Wednesday declared that North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat to the world.

{mosads}As he arrived back in Washington from Singapore, where he met with Kim Jong Un for the first-ever talks between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader, Trump also offered an optimistic assessment of the summit.

In a joint statement last week, Trump and Kim said that “[North Korea] commits to work towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Trump also announced a halt to military exercises with South Korea as follow-up negotiations take place between North Korea and the U.S.

Reed, however, said on Sunday that he believes halting the exercises, especially without first discussing the decision with U.S. allies in the region, is not the right move.

“It is a big deal. First of all, it’s a complete surprise to our allies, the South Koreans and the Japanese, they are very concerned,” Reed said. “Second, it is part of our determined, not wargaming, but deterrence of the North Koreans. If this goes for a long period of time, operationally we will lose the skills we need to collaborate with our colleagues in the region.”

“I think also what is interesting is that the Chinese were the first to report the cessation of these exercises and I think they are going to take a great deal of comfort from that,” Reed added.