Kerry: Ending Iran nuclear deal will worsen North Korea standoff

Kerry: Ending Iran nuclear deal will worsen North Korea standoff
Former US Secretary of State warns that scrapping the 2015 nuclear accord will ruin international trust in the United States.
2 min read
20 October, 2017
John Kerry warned that scrapping the nuclear deal is 'actually proliferation [Getty]



US President Donald Trump will worsen Washington's standoff with North Korea if he scraps the Iran nuclear deal, former Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday.

Kerry, who worked on the nuclear accord as Secretary of State under Barack Obama's presidency, took shot at Trump's recent speech to the UN and his refusal to re-certify the deal.

"If you want to negotiate with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un, and your goal is to avoid war and try to be able to have a diplomatic resolution, the worst thing you can do is first threaten to destroy his country in the United Nations," Kerry said, referring to the president's hostile UN speech in which he described the North Korean leader as "rocket boy".

Kerry delivered his remarks in a private lecture at Geneva's Graduate Institute.
 

"So the scenario that Trump opens up by saying 'let's get rid of the deal' is actually proliferation, far more damaging and dangerous," he said.