WASHINGTON \u2014 Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he believes it\u2019s time to start moving the families of American military personnel out of South Korea as North Korea pushes the U.S. closer to a military conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he will also urge the Pentagon not to send any more dependents to South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy to send spouses and children to South Korea, given the provocation of North Korea. South Korea should be an unaccompanied tour,\u201d the South Carolina Republican said on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d \u2033So, I want them to stop sending dependents, and I think it\u2019s now time to start moving American dependents out of South Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential aggression from the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, North Korea shattered 2\u00bd months of relative quiet by firing off an intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers say showed the reclusive country\u2019s ability to strike the U.S. East Coast. It was North Korea\u2019s most powerful weapons test yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The launch was a message of defiance to President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, which a week earlier had restored North Korea to a U.S. list of terror sponsors. It also hurt nascent diplomatic efforts and raised fears of a pre-emptive U.S. strike. Threats traded by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have further stoked fears of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graham expressed confidence in the Trump administration\u2019s ability to manage the growing conflict with North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got the best national security team of anybody I have seen since I have been in Washington,\u201d said Graham, who has served in Congress since 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration has vowed to deny North Korea the capability of striking the U.S. homeland with a nuclear-tipped missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDenial means pre-emptive war as a last resort. The pre-emption is becoming more likely as their technology matures,\u201d Graham told CBS. \u201cI think we\u2019re really running out of time. The Chinese are trying, but ineffectively. If there\u2019s an underground nuclear test, then you need to get ready for a very serious response by the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Pyongyang\u2019s \u201cprovocative actions,\u201d and he vowed that additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea. China is North Korea\u2019s only significant ally, but it has grown increasingly frustrated over the North\u2019s nuclear and missile tests that have brought a threat of war and chaos to China\u2019s northeastern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he believes it\u2019s time to start moving the families of American military personnel out of South Korea as North Korea pushes the U.S. closer to a military conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":89277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,12,68,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2767],"class_list":["post-53027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G2UUIQ3HBRADFGYM6VWCLR7NVE","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/03\/senator-its-time-for-us-military-families-to-leave-south-korea\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n