Meet the Press interviews during 2018: on War & Peace

Jeff Flake: Freeze is ok for North Korea, and denuclearization later

FLAKE: A lot of us have been skeptical that North Korea will ever agree to total denuclearization. They believe they're in the position as a nuclear peer with us because of their nuclear weapons. But a freeze would be better than we've had before. So, there's nothing wrong with saying, "Hey, they may not denuclearize, but we could have a better situation than we currently have."

Q: So, you're okay if denuclearization is more of a long-term goal

FLAKE: Right, I think that we're gonna have to live with that. I think that the North Koreans realize that total denuclearization on their part is not in their national interest. I don't think the rest of us see it that way, but that's how they see it. So, I do think that a freeze or something short of total denuclearization is certainly better than the situation that we have right now, where we had an escalating situation. North Korea was continuing to test. And, and that's not good for anyone.