John Bolton issued an angry Tweet on Monday condemning reports from the New York Times that the Trump Administration might seek a compromise with North Korea involving a freeze of the nation’s nuclear arsenal instead of immediately insisting on denuclearization.
Bolton insisted that neither he nor anyone else had ever discussed such
an idea, or even heard of the idea that such a deal was under
consideration. He demanded that “there should be consequences” for the
newspaper for daring to publish it.
Bolton went on to call the report “a reprehensible attempt by someone to box in the President.” The New York Times responded on Twitter, saying they stand behind the accuracy of their reporting.
Among administration officials, Bolton has always been one of the most
hesitant toward North Korea diplomacy to begin with, and would be one
who would oppose any sort of administration move to dial down demands on
North Korea.
This means that Bolton may be trying to shoot down the media reports on
what is being considered, to try to direct negotiations toward a more
hardline US position, the kind of position that has been failing for
months.
Bolton Rejects Reports of ‘Nuclear Freeze’ Compromise With North Korea
Says suggestion of compromise is 'reprehensible'
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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