American Secretaries of State

President Trump needs to encourage nations to impose stronger economic sanctions, says Amb. Nicholas Burns, Harvard Kennedy School professor, weighing in on combating North Korea's threats.

Nicholas Burns, former ambassador to NATO and under secretary of state, and a professor at Harvard Kennedy School of Government; and Herman “Hank” Cohen, a former ambassador to Senegal and the Gambia under President Jimmy Carter, and former assistant secretary of state for African affairs under President George H.W. Bush, explain what you should expect from this week's U.N. General Assembly.

CNBC Contributor Nick Burns and retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, senior fellow and military expert for Defense Priorities, discusses North Korea's economy after the U.S. imposed sanctions that have cut off 90% of trade for the country. They weigh in on the UK raising the terror threat level to critical.

New sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council on September 11 in response to North Korea’s latest nuclear test are “not significant enough,” according to R. Nicholas Burns, an Atlantic Council board member who served as undersecretary of state for political affairs in the George W. Bush administration.

Sanctions must be part of a “patient long-term strategy” that includes deterrence, working closely with allies, and negotiations, said Burns, laying out the United States’ options for dealing with the North Korean crisis.  

Nick Burns tells CNBC that Trump should stick with sanctions and avoid military conflict with North Korea. "Right now there are no good military options beyond defense," he says. Burns also says the Trump administration could begin to impose secondary sanctions.

A look at North Korea's latest rounds of missile tests with David Ignatius of the Washington Post, David Sanger of The New York Times, Lionel Barber of the Financial Times, and Nicholas Burns of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Professor Burns discusses North Korea's missile threat on CNBC's Squawk Box. He said that this test could be a prelude to negotiations and presents a real challenge to the Trump administration. 

Nick Burns and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, talk with CNN's Don Lemon about the events in Charlottesville, VA, the mobilization of the alt-right, and President Trump's reactions throughout the week. 

On Bloomberg Daybreak, Nick Burns talks with David Westin about the threat from North Korea, the reactions from President Trump, and the diplomatic options on the table. 

Professor Burns joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the new U.N. economic sanctions against North Korea and China's role in the process.