2016 presidential candidates on North Korea

• 2020 Candidates
  • Timeline of presidential announcements
• 2016 Pres. Election
  • Candidates
    • General election candidates
      • Republicans
        • Donald Trump
      • Democrats
        • Hillary Clinton
      • Third Party
        • Gary Johnson
        • Jill Stein
    • 2016 vice presidential candidates
      • Possible vice presidential picks
    • Withdrawn candidates
      • Democrats
        • Lincoln Chafee
        • Lawrence Lessig
        • Martin O'Malley
        • Bernie Sanders
        • Jim Webb
      • Republicans
        • Jeb Bush
        • Ben Carson
        • Chris Christie
        • Ted Cruz
        • Carly Fiorina
        • Jim Gilmore
        • Lindsey Graham
        • Mike Huckabee
        • Bobby Jindal
        • John Kasich
        • George Pataki
        • Rand Paul
        • Rick Perry
        • Marco Rubio
        • Rick Santorum
        • Scott Walker
    • POTUS
      • Barack Obama
      • Former presidents
        • George W. Bush
        • Bill Clinton
        • George H.W. Bush
        • Ronald Reagan
        • Jimmy Carter
  • Presidential debates (2015-2016)
  • Ballot access for presidential candidates
  • Important campaign dates
  • Delegate rules
  • Polling
  • Presidential campaign fundraising, 2008-2016
  • Ratings and scorecards
  • Straw polling
  • Democratic National Convention, 2016
  • Republican National Convention, 2016
• Analysis
  • Media narratives
    • The media's coverage of Donald Trump
    • The media's coverage of Hillary Clinton
  • Post-debate analysis
    • Democrats
      • April 14, 2016 (CNN)
      • March 9, 2016 (Univision)
      • March 6, 2016 (CNN)
      • February 11, 2016 (PBS)
      • February 4, 2016 (MSNBC)
      • January 17, 2016 (NBC)
      • December 19, 2015 (ABC)
      • November 14, 2015 (CBS)
      • October 13, 2015 (CNN)
    • Republicans
      • March 10, 2016 (CNN)
      • March 3, 2016 (FNC)
      • February 25, 2016 (CNN)
      • February 13, 2016 (CBS)
      • February 6, 2016 (ABC)
      • January 28, 2016 (FNC)
      • January 14, 2016 (FBN)
      • December 15, 2015 (CNN)
      • November 10, 2015 (FBN)
      • October 28, 2015 (CNBC)
      • September 16, 2015 (CNN)
  • Insiders Polls
    • Full Insiders coverage
    • September: Democratic control of the White House
    • September: Democratic control of Congress
    • January: Democratic
    • January: Republican
    • December: Democratic
    • December: Republican
    • Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015)
    • September: Democratic
    • September: Republican
    • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate
  • Post-debate commentary
    • CNN Democratic debate: analysis and commentary
    • CNN Republican debate: analysis and commentary
    • Post-debate analysis: James A. Barnes, Karlyn Bowman and David Kusnet
• Issues
  • Domestic affairs
    • Current events
      • Black Lives Matter movement
      • DACA and DAPA
      • Defunding Planned Parenthood
      • Marriage equality
      • RFRA
      • Scalia and Supreme Court vacancy
      • U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland
      • Transgender restroom access
      • Zika virus
    • Abortion
    • Branches of government
    • Civil liberties
    • Climate change
    • Constitution
    • Crime and justice
    • Education
    • Energy and environmental policy
    • Epidemic control
    • Federal assistance programs
    • Gun control
    • Healthcare
    • Immigration
    • Infrastructure
    • LGBTQ rights
    • Marijuana
    • Puerto Rico
    • Rural policy
    • Stop-and-frisk policing
    • Urban policy
  • Economic affairs and government regulations
    • Agriculture and food policy
    • Budgets
    • Government regulations
    • Labor and employment
    • Trade
    • Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
    • Taxes
    • Wall Street and banking policy
  • Foreign affairs and national security
    • Cuba
    • Foreign affairs
    • Iran nuclear deal
    • ISIS and terrorism
    • Military and veterans
    • National security
    • North Korea
    • Russia
    • Syrian refugees
    • Technology, privacy, and cybersecurity
  • Political savvy
    • Political and leadership attributes
    • Campaign preparations
• Power Players
  • Super PACs
  • Presidential campaign key staff and advisors
  • Staff changes
• Polls
  • BP battleground poll
  • Polls
• Conventions & delegates
  • Delegates
  • Republican National Convention, 2016
    • Republican delegates by state, 2016
    • Rule 40 and its impact on the 2016 Republican National Convention
    • Republican National Committee
  • Democratic National Convention, 2016
    • Democratic National Committee

2016 Presidential Election Date: November 8, 2016

Candidates Winner: Donald Trump (R) Hillary Clinton (D) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates

Election coverage Important dates • Nominating process • Ballotpedia's 2016 Battleground Poll • Polls • Debates • Presidential election by state • Ratings and scorecards

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage 2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 Have you subscribed yet? Join the hundreds of thousands of readers trusting Ballotpedia to keep them up to date with the latest political news. Sign up for the Daily Brew. Click here to learn more.

For information about the Trump administration on North Korea, click here.

This page was current as of the 2016 election.

On September 8, 2016, North Korea performed its fifth nuclear test since 2006 with a warhead allegedly capable of being mounted on a ballistic missile. A North Korean official said on September 11, 2016, "As we've made clear, we will continue to strengthen our nuclear power in quality and quantity to protect our dignity and the right to live as well as to ensure genuine peace from the increasing threat of a nuclear war from the United States."

The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting to address the incident and President Barack Obama said in a statement that the test was a "grave threat to regional security." He continued, "To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state." With simmering tensions between North Korea and the United States and its allies, the 2016 presidential candidates responded with an array of policy positions on North Korea, ranging from increased engagement to sanctions.

See what the 2016 candidates and their respective party platforms said about North Korea below.

Interested in reading more about the 2016 candidates' stances on issues related to North Korea?
Ballotpedia also covered what the candidates said about foreign affairs, the Iran nuclear deal, national security, and ISIS and terrorism.

OVERVIEW OF CANDIDATE POSITIONS

Hillary Clinton said that sanctions "aren't enough" to deter North Korea's nuclear development program and that she wanted to work with South Korea, Japan, and China to respond to North Korea.

Donald Trump expressed openness to allowing Japan and South Korea to develop nuclear arsenals to defend themselves against North Korea. He also said that China should "disappear" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Jill Stein said she would have tried to preempt conflict between North Korea and South Korea "through a vigorous policy of engagement."

Gary Johnson called North Korea "the greatest threat in the world," but rejected the idea that North Korea had the capacity to "conventionally" invade South Korea.

Democratic candidate

Hillary Clinton

• Following North Korea's nuclear test in September 2016, Hillary Clinton released the following statement: "I support President Obama’s call to both strengthen the sanctions passed earlier this year with the United Nations and to impose additional sanctions." She said in an interview on September 9, 2016, however, that sanctions "aren't enough." Clinton compared the dynamic to negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and said that she would work with South Korea and Japan to address North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. She added that China should be more involved in the international response to North Korea's actions.

• Clinton said on January 6, 2016, that the U.S. and its allies should impose additional sanctions against North Korea if it were proven true that North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. "If verified, this is a provocative and dangerous act, and North Korea must have no doubt that we will take whatever steps are necessary to defend ourselves and our treaty allies, South Korea and Japan," she said.
• Read more of Hillary Clinton's public statements on North Korea.

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform on North Korea

“ North Korea is perhaps the most repressive regime on the planet, run by a sadistic dictator. It has conducted several nuclear tests and is attempting to develop the capability to put a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile that could directly threaten the United States. The regime is also responsible for grave human rights abuses against the North Korean people. Yet Donald Trump praises North Korea’s dictator; threatens to abandon our treaty allies, Japan and South Korea; and encourages the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region. This approach is incoherent and rather than solving a global crisis, would create a new one. Democrats will protect America and our allies, press China to restrain North Korea, and sharpen the choices for Pyongyang to compel it to abandon its illegal nuclear and missile programs. ” —2016 Democratic Platform

Republican candidate

Donald Trump

• On June 1, 2016, a state-run news outlet in North Korea praised Donald Trump, calling him a "wise politician" and a “far-sighted presidential candidate.” Chinese North Korean scholar Han Yong-mook wrote, “There are many positive aspects to Trump’s ‘inflammatory policies.’ Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isn’t this fortunate from North Korea’s perspective?” The editorial praised Trump’s willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his threat to remove U.S. forces from South Korea unless they pay the United States more for their protection.

• During a May 20, 2016, interview with Joe Scarborough on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Trump clarified comments he made earlier in the week that he would be willing to speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “I wouldn't go to North Korea, Joe, I wouldn't go there. The last thing I'd do is go. I would never go to North Korea,” Trump said.

• In an interview with The New York Times on March 25, 2016, Trump said that he would “be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals rather than depend on the American nuclear umbrella for their protection against North Korea and China.”
  • North Korean official Ri Jong Ryul said that Trump’s call for Japan and South Korea to protect themselves with nuclear weapons was “absurd and illogical.” Ri said, “The U.S. tells us to give up our nuclear program, is preparing a nuclear attack against us, and on the other hand would tell its allies to have nuclear weapons. Isn't this [a] double standard?"
• Trump suggested on February 10, 2016, that China should “disappear” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. When asked if he meant a political assassination, Trump responded, “Well, you know, I've heard of worse things, frankly. I mean this guy's a bad dude – and don't underestimate him. Any young guy that can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably wants the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated.”
• Read more of Donald Trump's public statements on North Korea.

The 2016 Republican Party Platform on North Korea

“ We are a Pacific nation with economic, military, and cultural ties to all the countries of the oceanic rim and treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand. With them, we look toward the establishment of human rights for the people of North Korea. We urge the government of China to recognize the inevitability of change in the Kim family’s slave state and, for everyone’s safety against nuclear disaster, to hasten positive change on the Korean peninsula. The United States will continue to demand the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program with full accounting of its proliferation activities. We also pledge to counter any threats from the North Korean regime. ” —2016 Republican Platform

Green candidate

Jill Stein

• Jill Stein discussed how she would respond if North Korea invaded South Korea during an interview on August 23, 2016. She said, "Well, what we would be doing is trying to preempt these conflicts before they occur through a vigorous policy of engagement. So, we would be sitting down to negotiate, to actually reduce conflict on the Korean Peninsula right now, because there’s never really been a cease-fire. Or there’s been a cease-fire, but there hasn’t been a formal cessation of the war on the Korean Peninsula."
• In an interview with OnTheIssues.org on July 6, 2015, Stein said of North Korea, "That's a complicated problem in a society that has many issues and struggles but that also includes Korea's history of violence and imperialism, from both Japan and the US. There is a history of incredible distrust and aggression--it's important to understand that." She added that the nuclear disarmament of North Korea should be accomplished through "global [disarmament] agreements that also include us."
• Read more of Jill Stein's public statements on North Korea.

The 2016 Green Party Platform on national security

“ Foreign Policy—Peace and Disarmament As one of the initiators and primary authors of the United Nations Charter, the United States is obligated to conform to the stipulations of the U.S. Constitution, which identifies all such agreements as treaties that hold the authority of U.S. law. The U.S. government is pledged to abide by its principles and guidelines in the conduct of foreign relations and affairs. We recognize our government's obligation to take disputes with other nations or foreign bodies to the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly forum for negotiation and resolution. The U.N. and international laws, treaties and conventions that the U.S. has signed are the framework that controls U.S. military actions abroad. The U.S. must recognize the sovereignty of nation-states and their right of self-determination. We recognize and support the right of the U.N. to intervene in a nation-state engaged in genocidal acts or in its persistent violation and denial of the human rights of an ethnic or religious group within its boundaries, and the right to protect the victims of such acts. The U.S. is obligated to render military assistance or service under U.N. command to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions. The U.S. must recognize and abide by the authority of the U.N. General Assembly to act in a crisis situation by passing a resolution under the Uniting for Peace Procedure when the U.N. Security Council is stalemated by vetoes. We seek the permanent repeal of the veto power enjoyed by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. We urge our government to sign the International Criminal Court agreement and respect the authority of that institution. Our government does not have the right to justify preemptive invasion of another country on the grounds that the other country harbors, trains, equips and funds a terrorist cell. Our government should establish a policy to abolish nuclear weapons. It should set the conditions and schedule for fulfilling that goal by taking the following steps: Declare a no-first-strike policy. Declare a no-pre-emptive strike policy. Declare that the U.S. will never threaten or use a nuclear weapon, regardless of size, on a non-nuclear nation. Sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Our pledge to end testing will open the way for non-nuclear states to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which has been held up by our refusal to sign the CTBT. Honor the conditions set in the NPT for nuclear nations. Reverse our withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and honor its stipulations. End the research, testing and stockpiling of all nuclear weapons of any size. Dismantle all nuclear warheads from their missiles. We urge our government to sign the Toronto treaty banning the production, stockpiling, use and sale of land mines, and assist other nations in unearthing and disabling land mines buried in their lands. We urge our government to end all stockpiling of chemical and biological weapons and all research, use, and sale of such weapons; and sign the convention that will establish the decrease and inspection of all nations' stockpiles of such weapons, which the U.S. abandoned. The U.S. must allow foreign teams to visit the U.S. for verification purposes at least annually. Our defense budget has increased out of all proportion to any military threat to the United States, and to our domestic social, economic and environmental needs. The United States government must reduce our defense budget to half of its current size. The 2012 defense budget exceeded $700 billion, and that does not take into account military expenditures not placed under the defense budget. The U.S. has over 700 foreign military bases. We urge our government to phase out all bases not specifically functioning under a U.N. resolution to keep peace and bring home our troops stationed abroad, except for the military assigned to protect a U.S. embassy. Many of these bases are small and can be closed immediately. We advocate further reductions in U.S. foreign military bases at a rate of closure of 1/4 to 1/5 of their numbers every year. Close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas, in Ft. Benning, Georgia. The U.S. is the largest arms seller and dealer in the world. We urge our government to prohibit all arms sales to foreign nations and likewise prohibit grants to impoverished and undemocratic nations unless the money is targeted on domestic, non-military needs. In addition, grants to other nations may not be used to release their own funds for military purposes. The U.S. must not be a conduit for defense contractors to market their products abroad and must shift our export market from arms to peaceful technology, industrial and agricultural products, and education. The U.S. must prohibit all covert actions used to influence, de-stabilize or usurp the governments of other nations, and likewise prohibit the assassination of, or assistance in any form for the assassination of, foreign government officials. We must build on the Earth Charter that came out of the 1992 U.N. environmental Earth Summit. New definitions of what constitutes real security between nations must be debated and adopted by the foreign policy community. ” —2016 Green Party Platform

Libertarian candidate

Gary Johnson

• On September 9, 2016, Gary Johnson said that he did not believe North Korea had the capacity to invade South Korea. "I don't think that capability exists. Of course, that would be the input that I'm getting right now. In fact, South Korea is so far advanced, the economies are nowhere near comparable in scale. North Korea [invading] is just not going to happen," he said. Commenting on how the U.S. presence in South Korea was perceived by China, he said, "We are kind of making China go crazy with our 30,000 troops in South Korea, recognizing there is no chance that North Korea invades South Korea conventionally."
• At a Libertarian Party presidential debate on May 28, 2016, Johnson discussed the threat posed by North Korea, saying, “The greatest threat in the world is North Korea. At some point Kim will have intercontinental ballistic missiles that work. How about engaging China [to say] let's do something about North Korea, let's do something about Kim, unify the Koreas and be able to withdraw the 40,000 troops in South Korea.”

• Read more of Gary Johnson's public statements on North Korea.

The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on national security

“ 3.0 Securing Liberty The protection of individual rights is the only proper purpose of government. Government is constitutionally limited so as to prevent the infringement of individual rights by the government itself. The principle of non-initiation of force should guide the relationships between governments. 3.1 National Defense We support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United States against aggression. The United States should both avoid entangling alliances and abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world. We oppose any form of compulsory national service. 3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence to detect and to counter threats to domestic security. This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens. The Constitution and Bill of Rights shall not be suspended even during time of war. Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the nation must be subject to oversight and transparency. We oppose the government’s use of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it should have, especially that which shows that the government has violated the law. 3.3 International Affairs American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups. 3.4 Free Trade and Migration We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property. 3.5 Rights and Discrimination Libertarians embrace the concept that all people are born with certain inherent rights. We reject the idea that a natural right can ever impose an obligation upon others to fulfill that “right.” We condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant. Government should neither deny nor abridge any individual’s human right based upon sex, wealth, ethnicity, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference or sexual orientation. Members of private organizations retain their rights to set whatever standards of association they deem appropriate, and individuals are free to respond with ostracism, boycotts and other free-market solutions. 3.6 Representative Government We support election systems that are more representative of the electorate at the federal, state and local levels. As private voluntary groups, political parties should be free to establish their own rules for nomination procedures, primaries and conventions. We call for an end to any tax-financed subsidies to candidates or parties and the repeal of all laws which restrict voluntary financing of election campaigns. We oppose laws that effectively exclude alternative candidates and parties, deny ballot access, gerrymander districts, or deny the voters their right to consider all legitimate alternatives. We advocate initiative, referendum, recall and repeal when used as popular checks on government. 3.7 Self-Determination Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty. ” —2016 Libertarian Party Platform

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 2016 presidential candidates North Korea. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

2016 presidential candidates on North Korea - Google News

See also

• Presidential candidates, 2016
• 2016 presidential candidates on foreign affairs
• 2016 presidential candidates on national security
• 2016 presidential candidates on ISIS and Syrian refugees
• 2016 presidential candidates on the Iran nuclear deal

Footnotes

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond • Erica Shumaker
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox