North Korea's Fifth Nuclear Test

Reports indicate that North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test last week, its fourth since January 2009. Meanwhile, the White House has been naively pursuing a strategy it calls ‘strategic patience’ with Pyongyang that has proved to do little to stop the Kim regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon. It’s time that we hold North Korea accountable for its actions that have endangered the entire region with the very grave risk of nuclear proliferation.

There was a time when we kept North Korea on the state sponsor of terrorism list partly because of these dangerous proliferation activities, and we rescinded their designation when they made empty promises to halt their nuclear program. Eight years later, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has only progressed. This is precisely why I introduced the North Korea State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act of 2016 in May. We need to call a spade a spade and ensure that North Korea pays consequences for its actions which endanger us all.