Former acting CIA director Michael Morell warned Sunday that “we’re paying a price” for President Trump’s unorthodox diplomatic outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which included a surprise visit to North Korea this weekend.
“This comes at a very high cost. This gives Kim Jong Un a lot of legitimacy. This is gold for him politically at home and in the world,” said Morell during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
{mosads}Morell served as acting CIA director under President Obama from 2012 to 2013 and endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.
“This is going to going to weaken sanctions enforcement against North Korea because if you’re another country you’re going to say to yourself, ‘My companies don’t need to pay a price, they’re now getting along.’ You’re going to step back a little bit,” Morell said of the impact of Trump’s visit to North Korea on other countries that have participated in sanctions against its regime.
Nevertheless, Morell acknowledged that resuming talks with North Korea “is important” and “a good thing.”
“A negotiated solution is the only solution to this problem. There isn’t a military option. There is not a covert action option,” he said.
The comments came after Trump made history earlier Sunday by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to cross into North Korea. He later announced that stalled nuclear talks would resume.