A day after being contradicted by the nation’s top intelligence officials, President Trump declared Wednesday that there is a “decent chance” that North Korea will denuclearize and that ISIS “will soon be destroyed.”
On Tuesday, US intelligence agencies told Congress that Pyongyang is unlikely to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, that ISIS remains a threat and that the Iran nuclear deal is working.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats presented an update to the Senate intelligence committee on their annual assessment of global threats.
Coats said intelligence information does not back the idea that North Korean despot Kim Jong Un will eliminate his nukes and the capacity for building more — a notion that is the basis of the US negotiating strategy.
“We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capability because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival,” Coats told the panel.
But the president pushed back Wednesday in a series of tweets.
“North Korea relationship is best it has ever been with U.S. No testing, getting remains, hostages returned. Decent chance of Denuclearization,” Trump wrote.
“Time will tell what will happen with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relationship was horrendous and very bad things were about to happen,” he continued.
“Now a whole different story. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made-big difference!”
After his summit with Kim last year, the president declared that the rogue regime no longer posed a nuclear threat, even though the meeting produced no verifiable proof Pyongyang would discontinue its nuclear program.
“There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea,” he tweeted in June 2018.
The president on Wednesday also wrote that when he took office, “ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant.”
“Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last 5 weeks. Caliphate will soon be destroyed, unthinkable two years ago. Negotiating are proceeding well in Afghanistan after 18 years of fighting,” he wrote.
A US intelligence report dubbed the Worldwide Threat Assessment said ISIS “very likely will continue to pursue external attacks from Iraq and Syria against regional and Western adversaries, including the United States.”
With the expected withdrawal of American troops from Syria, the intelligence assessment suggested the regime of strongman Bashar al-Assad would not focus on clearing ISIS from the war-ravaged country.
On Wednesday, Trump also warned US citizens against traveling to Venezuela amid the political crisis in the country over control of the government, as the US and other nations have recognized President Nicolas Maduro’s rival Juan Guiadó.
“Maduro willing to negotiate with opposition in Venezuela following U.S. sanctions and the cutting off of oil revenues,” he tweeted. “Guaido is being targeted by Venezuelan Supreme Court. Massive protest expected today. Americans should not travel to Venezuela until further notice.”
Maduro told the Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday that he is “willing to sit down for talks with the opposition for the sake of Venezuela’s peace and its future.”
He said the talks could be held with mediation of other countries.
With Post wires
