Haley: Trump’s unpredictability a factor in pushing North Korea sanctions

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said late Tuesday that she used President Trump’s unpredictability to her advantage when pushing tougher sanctions against North Korea.

CNN reported that Haley, speaking at an event at the University of Houston, explained that she had difficulty getting the Russians and Chinese to agree to stronger sanctions against North Korea.

Haley said she knew China, in particular, wanted to avoid a destabilized North Korea. 

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“The truth is I would always use the unpredictability of President Trump to help me get the sanctions through,” Haley said.

“So I would say, ‘we have to cut off the [North Korean] laborers. We have to do this.’ And they’d say ‘oh no, no we can’t do that,’” Haley said.

“And I would say ‘OK, but I can’t promise you that President Trump won’t use the military,’” she continued. “I can’t promise there won’t be a more forceful action, so why can’t we do this and see if we can start to cut the revenue in North Korea?” 

She added that by the time the Chinese were on board with the sanctions, Russia’s opposition was less of a factor.

Multiple lawmakers, including Democrats, have credited Trump’s unpredictability with bringing North Korea to the negotiating table to abandon its nuclear program.

Trump is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore; however, the president suggested on Tuesday that it may happen later, or not at all.

North Korea threw the discussions into doubt when it condemned the U.S. for conducting joint military drills with South Korea and threatened to end diplomatic talks.