Bolton: North Korea’s Missile Tests Violated UN Resolutions

Speaking to Japanese Premier Abe Shinzo during a visit to Tokyo, John Bolton ddeclared that North Korea’s recent short-range missile tests were in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Bolton wasn’t very specific, though UN Security Council resolutions ban almost anything North Korea could conceivably do, so it probably is the case that even short-range missile tests are banned.

But while President Trump downplayed the tests as not a big deal, Bolton pushed them as a huge violation that proved US sanctions must stay in place, and perhaps more concerning, that the “repeated pattern of failures” needs to be stopped.

Bolton, of course, has long advocated military confrontation with North Korea, and has never been very favorable to diplomatic efforts. He appears keen to present the tests as just another sign that diplomacy doesn’t work with North Korea, allowing him to offer an alternative solution.