WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement on President Trump’s announcement that he will reverse sanctions on North Korea:

“Once again, President Trump is making critical national security decisions on the fly, with tweets that directly conflict with the advice of his cabinet and experts. Despite the President’s unfounded claims, the North Koreans have not stopped their weapons program and they continue to produce fissile material today. The Kim Jong Un regime has made no meaningful concessions that make Americans safer or warrant withdrawal of sanctions.

“Congress put these sanctions in place specifically because of North Korea’s illegal nuclear weapons program and human rights abuses. None of those conditions have changed, so there is no reason we should be removing these sanctions. The only rationale President Trump has pointed to is his relationship with the North Korean dictator. That close friendship is troubling, and it certainly does not justify decisions that could endanger our national security.”

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