President Donald Trump’s actions worsen the confrontation between the United States and North Korea, former CIA acting director Mike Morell said in an interview on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US officials announced on Saturday that an aircraft carrier strike group was sent to the Korean peninsula amid rising tensions.
“We have a new president and Kim Jong Un is trying to challenge him, is trying to get him back to the negotiating table,” Morell told CBS. “And then we are also making it worse, right? With our bluster and by sending aircraft carriers in there, we’re raising the crisis.”
Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora shared the sentiment, stating earlier on Friday that the United States’ aircraft carrier group dispatched toward North Korea is a provocation that does not contribute to de-escalation on the Korean peninsula.
“Of course, annual US exercises this year are particularly provocative… Taking into account the fact that the US is bringing up an airborne strike group here, this does not work toward calming the situation,” Matsegora told Sputnik.
Last year’s joint US-South Korean drills practiced taking out North Korea’s leadership, military facilities and intercepting incoming North Korean planes in the event of war on the Korean peninsula.
