diff --git a/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/Client.scala b/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/Client.scala
index d9fea009eb681..2ab36aea38b8c 100644
--- a/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/Client.scala
+++ b/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/Client.scala
@@ -149,8 +149,7 @@ private[spark] class Client(
   def submitApplication(): ApplicationId = {
     var appId: ApplicationId = null
     try {
-      if ( launcherServerSecret !=null && launcherServerSecret != "" && launcherServerPort != 0 &&
-        launcherServerStopFlag != null) {
+      if ( launcherServerSecret !=null && launcherServerSecret != "" && launcherServerPort != 0) {
         launcherBackend.connect(launcherServerPort, launcherServerSecret, launcherServerStopFlag)
       } else {
         launcherBackend.connect()