The negotiations that have already taken place with North Korea are "steps in the right direction," but a look should be taken at U.S. policies to see how the negotiations can be pushed forward, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday after North Korea fired two short-range missiles.
"I'll tell you my constituents in Hawaii have felt very directly this nuclear threat coming from North Korea," Gabbard told Fox News' "Fox & Friends." "You remember about a year ago there was a false missile alert came through across people's phones . . . it was terrifying with people looking, where do you take shelter? Where do you go? Where can you find protection? The fact is there is no shelter."
North Korea Chairman Kim Jong Un is seeing its nuclear weapons program as its only deterrent against regime change, Gabbard said, so it is important to work to end regime change wars, which further undermine the ability to come to a deal.
Gabbard said the United State should strengthen its alliances with China and South Korea in hopes of convincing Kim to denuclearize.
"I think China shares our objective of ultimately denuclearizing the Korean peninsula," Gabbard said. "They want to see stability there, so this is an area where we've got to be able to work together."
The last round of talks between the U.S. and North Korea collapsed when Trump refused a demand from Kim the U.S. ease its sanctions against his country.