Pompeo: North Korean missile launch not a threat

UPDATE: A North Korean missile launch on Saturday does not pose a significant threat to the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. “At no point was there ever any international boundary crossed,” Pompeo told ABC News’ This Week. “They landed in the water east of North Korea and didn’t present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan. And we know that they were relatively short range.”

Pompeo said he remains hopeful that the United States can still strike a nuclear pact with Pyongyang, but the White House will insist on verifying any steps toward denuclearization.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (5/4/19, 10:48 a.m.): South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired several unidentified short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast Saturday. South Korean and U.S. authorities were attempting to determine if the projectiles were ballistic, which are banned. If it is confirmed they were ballistic, it would be the first such launch since North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017. Experts predict the North may increase such activity in an attempt to pressure the United States into reducing sanctions against the communist country.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement saying the United States was aware of the missile launches and would continue to monitor the situation.