Trump's Iran decision could shake up North Korea stand-off
President Trumps upcoming decision on whether to toss out the landmark nuclear deal with Iran could have ripple effects half-a-world away.
Experts on both sides of the political spectrum say that whatever happens with Iran will have effects on North Korea and vice versa.
Opponents of the Iranian nuclear deal argue that Iran is watching North Koreas belligerence to see what they might be able to get away with. Supporters of the deal, meanwhile, say scrapping it would send a signal to Pyongyang that the United States cannot be trusted in any potential future negotiations.
The Iran nuclear deal set an important precedent constraining a hostile proliferator's nuclear capabilities, Robert Litwick, director of international security studies at the Wilson Center, said in an email. Ironically, this worst deal ever negotiated, according to President Trump, offers a useful model that could be applied to North Korea's much more mature nuclear program through a concerted diplomatic push, enlisting China, to constrain the North's capabilities.
Trump faces an Oct. 15 deadline to tell Congress whether Iran remains in compliance with the 2015 deal that provided Tehran with billions of dollars of sanctions relief in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program.
President Trumps upcoming decision on whether to toss out the landmark nuclear deal with Iran could have ripple effects half-a-world away.
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/351990-trumps-iran-decision-could-shake-up-north-korean-nuclear-stand-off