After dinner with Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham says US will stop 'the nutjob in North Korea'

Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted Tuesday that President Donald Trump will not "let" North Korea develop a missile that can reach the United States.

Trump had dinner with Graham and Sen. John McCain, noted foreign policy hawks, on Monday night.

Jacob Pramuk
1 Hour Ago CNBC.com
April 25, 2017

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that President Donald Trump will not allow "the nutjob" leader of North Korea to develop missiles that could threaten the United States.

The South Carolina Republican made his comments about Kim Jong Un on Twitter a day after having dinner with Trump.

In a Fox News interview earlier Tuesday, Graham said he preferred to curb North Korean aggression through diplomacy, "using China," Pyongyang's only major ally, to stop North Korea from trying to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. Graham said he sees military force as a "last resort."

"[Trump] doesn't want a war any more than I do, but he's not going to let them get a missile. That's where they're headed. And China needs to up their game to stop this before it gets too late," Graham told Fox.

Graham and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, like Graham a noted foreign policy hawk, both attended the dinner with Trump. Graham's office did not immediately respond to a request to comment on what they specifically discussed. McCain's office declined to comment.

North Korean soldiers salute bronze statues (not pictured) of North Korea's late founder Kim Il-sung and late leader Kim Jong Il at Mansudae in Pyongyang, in this photo released by Kyodo April 25, 2017, to mark the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army.

The United States, China, South Korea and Japan have aimed to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions, but without taking actions that could plunge the region into a conflict. Japan has sent two warships to join a U.S. aircraft carrier group that's headed toward Korean waters, which Trump sent as a warning to Pyongyang.

Ahead of a meeting Monday with the ambassadors from United Nations Security Council member countries, Trump said the UN should prepare for the prospect of newer, tougher sanctions against North Korea. Trump said the world is wearing "blinders" when it comes to North Korea, and has done so for "decades."

"The status quo in North Korea is also unacceptable, and the council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs," he said.

Top administration national security officials plan to brief all 100 members of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday at the White House about the situation in North Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend the rare White House briefing of the entire Senate, Reuters reported.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/25/after...rth-korea.html