GOP leaders: North Korea sanctions working

WASHINGTON—Republican lawmakers are cautiously optimistic as the dust settles from Thursday’s surprise announcement that President Donald Trump intends to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un sometime in May. “[This] shows sanctions the administration has implemented are starting to work,” Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “We can pursue more diplomacy as we keep applying pressure ounce by ounce.” While Royce reacted positively to the news, he cautioned that North Korea repeatedly uses talks and empty promises to advance its agenda. Threats from Kim have prompted strict sanctions from the UN and the U.S. Congress amid months of heated exchanges between Trump and the North Korean leader. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, echoed Royce’s sentiment. “While U.S. policy toward North Korea has failed for decades, it is clear that a series of sanctions recently put in place by Congress and the administration are having a real impact,” he tweeted Thursday. Corker added that the administration needs to remain skeptical and maintain strong policies toward the rogue nation even amid hopes of improved relations.