Ben Carson on North Korea Missile Launch: America ‘Will Not Succumb to Intimidation’

GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson responded to North Korea’s satellite launch with ballistic missile technology, saying this is evidence of “just how ineffectual America’s current foreign policy approach has become.”

“We need to show any rogue regime that the United States and her allies will not succumb to intimidation,” Ben Carson stated. “As President, I will use every arrow in our quiver — economic, social, diplomatic, and military — to prevent North Korea from expanding its nuclear and missile technology.”

I will make clear to China that its best interest is to pressure North Korea into complying with international agreements. I will instruct our intelligence agencies to identify any possible countries that have aided the North Korean regime in acquiring materials or expertise for their weapons tests. Finally, I will reposition America’s naval assets to ensure that America’s presence in the region demonstrates our firm commitment to our Asian allies that are directly threatened by North Korea’s provocations.

Maj. Gen. Bob Dees, Carson’s Campaign Chairman, told Breitbart News, “North Korea is the most insular nation in the world. And they’re ruled by what I would say, [is] a totalitarian maniac.”

There’s North Korean parents who are selling their children to Chinese merchants for bags of rice, so that gives you a feel of the starvation conditions. They are very dangerous because they spent all of their natural resources on weaponry — nuclear and ballistic missiles. They’re one of the larger exporters of ballistic missile technology to others. So that’s a very dangerous thing, we need to control them.

Carson, during a phone interview with Breitbart News, said he thinks national security has become a substantial issue during the 2016 election.

When asked if voters discuss the Islamic State (ISIS) and the threat of Islamic terrorism on the campaign trail, Carson said, “More people are worried about it over there, which I think is appropriate.”

“If we eliminate the problem over there, we will eliminate it here as well,” he added. “We should have them on the run. We should have them on the defensive. We shouldn’t be giving them time to be planning offensive actions against us.”