Mullen: Chance of military conflict increases if US-North Korea talks fail
 

Mullen: Chance of military conflict increases if US-North Korea talks fail
BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 05/13/18 09:59 AM EDT
Re: http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-t...us-north-korea

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen cautioned on Sunday that if the upcoming summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fail, the likelihood of conflict will increase.

"What I'm saying is if the talks fail that the likelihood of options are dramatically reduced to potential conflict, and that's a huge worry," Mullen told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."

Mullen said he was concerned about the potential risk for military conflict and whether or not Kim would use nuclear weapons.

Despite his warning, Mullen said Trump deserves credit for setting up the upcoming historic summit.

"I want to give President Trump credit for getting to this point. He's moved the needle on this when that has not been done in the past," he said. "I also think that, given the stakes, it's a very much high-risk, high-reward opportunity and I think the downsides are really, really significant as well."

"I want to understand what the potential outcomes could be both on the upside and the downside," he continued.

Trump is expected to become the first sitting U.S. president to meet with a North Korean leader on June 12 when he sits down with Kim in Singapore.

Kim, who has clashed with the U.S. on numerous occasions over the issue of nuclear weapons, has reportedly expressed his willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

Trump has touted about the upcoming meeting, saying he believes it will be successful.

“I think it’s going to be a very big success,” the president said last week. “But my attitude is: And if it isn’t, it isn’t. OK? If it isn’t, it isn’t.”