All members of the US Senate were treated to a classified briefing concerning North Korea. The event was so hyped, and yet a lot of senators emerged from the briefing "unimpressed." For many senators, the biggest irk seems to be the lack of straight answers coming from the administration.
A lot of comments started circling right after the briefing.
One senator claimed that he already knew everything that was discussed during the briefing.
Another senator was appreciative of the briefing, and yet he also added that there was nothing earth shattering that is going to happen in the very near future.
A Republican senator was unsatisfied with the briefing, claiming that they never got straight answers concerning North Korea's testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).
One Democratic senator echoed the same assessment, claiming that there was very little information that was given.
One senator was also mystified why the entire Senate was taken to the White House via bus when there's nothing really new.
Democratic senators were rather displeased with the briefing, claiming that they could have gotten everything from reading the newspaper.
Another concern that was voiced out by most senators was the fact that the officials did not present any specific and credible plan on how Trump's administration would react in case North Korea conducts a Nuclear test. More importantly, no specific plan was presented in the event North Korea would attack South Korea or Japan.
A Democratic senator also pointed out that Trump appeared at the briefing and added his signature "ridiculous adjective." The said senator claimed that there were 80 invisible rolling eyes after that.
Jim Sciutto, a news reporter from CNN, claimed that there was no "revelation" that was presented during the briefing. He also added that the entire briefing was more about telling everyone that they are serious about the North Korea situation.
Some senators were not so uptight about the briefing. One Republic senator expressed that they were walked through the military, economic, and diplomatic aspects when it comes to dealing with the North Koreans. The Republican senator also added that they were presented on all of the steps the administration is taking to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
After the briefing, Coats, Mattis, and Tillerson released a joint statement claiming that North Korea's plans of acquiring nuclear weapons deserve the highest level of priority and North Korea is seen as a serious threat to national security. Additionally, they briefed the Congress about making a thorough review of U.S. policies that revolve around North Korea.
They also added that Trump's approach is to pursue diplomatic means with our allies and tighten economic sanction to force North Korea to dismantle its proliferation programs, ballistic missiles, and nuclear weapons.
The joint statement concluded that Trump's administration seeks peaceful denuclearization and stability within the Korean Peninsula. They also added that Trump's administration is open for negotiations to obtain such goal. And yet, the administration is prepared to defend our allies and the country no matter the costs.
