Pompeo says N. Korea ‘probably did violate’ UNSC resolutions

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that North Korea “probably did violate the UN Security Council resolutions” when they launched short-range missiles on May 4 and 9.

In an interview with James Rosen of the Fox News Channel in Bern, Switzerland, on Monday (local time), Pompeo said that “there’s been lots of focus on this question” when asked by Rosen whether he regards the North’s recent missile tests as violations of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The interview’s full transcript was published on the State Department’s homepage (state.gov). He said that “But what’s really important is that the campaign that we’ve been engaged in, not just the United States but that the world has been engaged in, ultimately delivers the outcome that we’re looking for.” “If you ask me the question, ‘Is Kim Jong Un rational in the sense of he’s working diligently to deliver the outcomes that he has articulated,’ I think it’s most certainly the case that he’s rational.”

Also, to a question that whether Kim Jong Un has the legitimacy to govern the people of North Korea, compared with circumstances in Venezuela and Iran, Pompeo said, “The analogies are imperfect. And that’s why we’ve taken different approaches in each of these situations.”

“One thing the Trump administration has done in a way that I’m incredibly proud of is we’ve just accepted reality,” he added. “In the case of North Korea, we got the hardest sanctions passed not by the United States but by the UN Security Council, a set of resolutions that has led to the opportunity we’ve had to potentially denuclearize North Korea.”


Taek Kyoon Sohn sohn@donga.com