Nuclear Issues

Fmr. U.S. Amb. to NATO Nicholas Burns on Russian diplomats expelled from U.S. and European countries. 

Staffing gaps and significant personnel changes at the State Department have raised concerns about the direction of U.S. foreign policy, especially amid public statements by President Donald Trump concerning American alliances and positions on issues around the world. Ambassador Cameron Munter invites Ambassador Nicholas Burns to share his insights and ideas, including on timely topics such as the U.S.-Russia relationship following the re-election of Vladimir Putin, Transatlantic relations and changing perceptions about the future role of NATO, and a possible meeting between President Trump and his North Korean counterpart on nuclear nonproliferation and security.

Fmr. Amb. Nicholas Burns joins Morning Joe to discuss the naming of John Bolton as the new national security adviser. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also joins the conversation.

Donald Trump is right about North Korea, of course. It never made sense for the US to launch a “bloody nose” military strike against Kim Jong Un’s isolated country without having tried diplomacy first.

In a "Squawk Box" interview, Burns credited Trump's veiled military threats in response to Kim's aggression and diplomatic progress with North Korean ally China for seeding an environment to make a meeting possible.

"There’s no track record here. Kim Jong Un hasn’t met with the Chinese leadership."

Will talks with North Korea work this time around? Nicholas Burns says "the devil will be in the details," on BBC World News America.

Nicholas Burns, former U.S. undersecretary of State, provides insight to top international trouble spots next year, including containing North Korea, China trade, and U.S. relations with Russia.

President Donald Trump, in unprecedented fashion, has been able to get the Chinese government to turn the screws on North Korea in hopes of getting Kim Jong Un to halt military provocations, according to a former diplomat who has advised Republican and Democratic presidents.

"The Chinese have done more under President Trump's prodding than any other American president. They signed on to the UN sanctions. There are now individual Chinese sanctions; the central bank governors instructed banks in China to wind up loans to North Korea," Nicholas Burns told CNBC on Friday. He appeared on "Squawk Box," a week before Trump embarks on a trip to Asia, which includes stops in China and South Korea.