President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said Saturday that recent missile tests by North Korea definitely violated U.N. resolutions. Bolton argued that sanctions against North Korea needed to remain in place after the launches on May 4 and 9, according to The Hill.
North Korea is barred by U.N. Security Council resolutions from testing any ballistic missiles. The recent launches are thought to be an attempt by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to pressure Washington into continuing talks that seemed recently to be reaching an impasse over North Korea’s reluctance to unilaterally disarm its nuclear arsenal.
Trump and his officials are downplaying the launches’ significance, but Bolton’s comments show that they are aware of the situation’s dynamics. While North Korea wants sanctions lifted, Pyongyang appears unwilling to hold up its end of the bargain by keeping its word on disarmament.
North Korean demands
Bolton’s comments were made in Tokyo ahead of a 4-day visit there by Trump. Bolton also said that Trump would be speaking to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit about the importance of keeping the U.N. Security Council resolutions intact, according to the Associated Press.
Bolton reportedly encouraged Abe to meet with North Korea, which Abe has indicated willingness to do. Close ties between the nations might make it possible for Abe to make progress with North Korea in ways the U.S. may not currently be able to do.
Still, in addition to demanding sanctions be lifted, North Korea is also demanding the return of a cargo ship seized recently by the U.S. because it was involved in banned coal exports. Bolton called the ship’s seizure “appropriate,” adding: “I take much of what they say with a grain of salt.”
Bolton also said it might be time to talk about the return of the USS Pueblo, a naval intelligence ship Pyongyang has held since 1968.
Not much has been heard from North Korea since the February summit in Hanoi, Bolton admitted. The U.S. special envoy to North Korea, Stephen Biegun, has reached out several times to his counterpart in North Korea but has gotten no response.
U.S. holding firm
For his part, Trump built a relationship with Kim Jong Un by meeting with him when previous presidents would not, but Trump knows that if he gives in to North Korean demands, he runs the risk of further nuclear development by the nation.
While the prospect of further conflict with North Korea is not one any president wants to entertain, Trump may still be able to negotiate with Kim to achieve his goal of North Korean disarmament — at least on paper.
The real question is, can Kim be trusted to keep any agreement he does make? He has a long history of violating agreements and doing whatever he wants with regard to nuclear development.
It will be up to Trump to put inspection protocols in place to catch any illicit behavior by Kim and reassure the world that Kim is indeed keeping his word.
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