Pompeo: Pyongyang's most recent test did not involve new weapons

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that the two projectiles recently launched by North Korea were “the same type as previous ones” in an interview with Mid-America Network on Friday (local time), indicating that North Korea’s latest test of super-large multiple rocket launchers will not be considered a major issue.

He also noted that it had been probably almost 24 hours since the launch. These were the first remarks made by a U.S. high-ranking official since the Thursday test and are seen as Washington’s stance to maintain the momentum for negotiations with the North instead of strongly condemning its behavior – the same approach adopted by U.S. President Donald Trump who said Pyongyang’s short-range missile launches do not violate agreements with his administration calling them “very standard stuff.”

In the meantime, Pompeo expressed discontent at the little progress that has been made since the first U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore in June last year. "The progress has been far too slow,” he said. ?I'm hopeful that we can continue to work on this project and get a good outcome in the months ahead.”


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