During an interview with CBS’s “The Takeout” podcast recorded on Wednesday and released on Friday, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) stated that the Russia-North Korea meeting is “potentially very destabilizing,” and “all part of an alliance” between China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia to destroy the post-World War II order.
Smith said, [relevant remarks begin around 15:11] “China and Russia and also Iran and North Korea have a central goal of sort of breaking the international world order, because they believe it’s not their’s, it’s not in their — they want to play by their own set of rules, not by a set of rules that was set up post-World War II. And if Russia can smash sovereignty in Ukraine, that’s a big step towards meeting the goals — not just of Russia — China, Iran, North Korea as well, of introducing a new measure of chaos into the globe.”
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett then asked, “How destabilizing, if at all, is this between Kim Jong-un and Putin?”
Smith answered, “It’s potentially very destabilizing, and it makes the point that it’s all part of an alliance. Let me just say, by the way, I do not say all of that to say that the rules-based international order that has been set up post-World War II, primarily by the United States, has been perfect. No. We need to do a better job of having conversations with other countries throughout the world, the non-aligned countries, India, Brazil, South Africa, and others, about what’s wrong with the international system, what can we do differently to make sure that it’s more fair, that it gives some of the developing countries a better shot. We can have that conversation, but that’s not what China and Russia want to do. They want to introduce, basically, rule by might, autocracy, not an international order. And that’s what we must stand up against.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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