Despite summit cancellation, Rounds sees progress with North Korea

HURON – While the cancellation of the U.S.-North Korean summit that was scheduled for next month should come as no surprise, progress between the two countries has been made with the release of three hostages and Kim Jong Un has partially shut down his nuclear facilities, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.,  said Thursday.
“We may be back to square one; that’s a part of it,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “You always have to be prepared to walk away from a deal.”
Rounds said he and others in the Republican conference had lunch Thursday with Vice President Mike Pence, who shared details of the North Korean leader’s provocative language and threats that led to President Trump calling off the meeting that had been scheduled for June 12  in Singapore.
“This is a case where we would most certainly prefer to have diplomatic relations to eliminate nuclear threats,” Rounds said.
Although the possibility of a future summit is unclear, sanctions against North Korea will continue as pressure is applied to the country, he said.
For North Koreans, “it’s going to be tough on them,” he said. “But we are not going to allow them to be a nuclear power.”
Asked about the president’s strategy, Rounds compared it to Trump’s real estate business, where he was always prepared to walk away from the negotiating table.

Renewed overtures from North Korea are possible, but Rounds thinks China should also play a major role in any resumption of talks.
Meanwhile, Rounds briefed reporters on unanimous passage by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, of which he is a member, of a water infrastructure bill that he said will benefit all South Dakota communities.
“It includes language to update and maintain water infrastructure systems such as dams and levees, upgrade drinking and waste water systems and increase water storage to make certain all citizens have access to safe, clean water,” he said.
He said it also gives state and local government leaders a seat at the table to prioritize Army Corps projects in their regions. However, he said it may also involve statutory changes.
Rounds said the bill makes implementation of the Upper Missouri River Basin snowpack monitoriing program a priority, which he has pushed for since taking office. It will include not only mountain snowpack, but plains snowpack as well, he said.
For much of the week, Rounds and others serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee met behind closed doors to draft the annual National Defense Authorization markup, he said.
Typically, it receives wide bipartisan support because legislation involving the military is among the most important, he said. The committee voted 25-2 to pass the markup out to the floor.
Rounds said it includes a number of provisions that he offered, but specifics won’t be released until the entire bill is made public.
“I think people will be very, very pleased with the direction that we’re taking with this bill,” he said.