North Korea's missile launch not likely to result in additional sanctions

北 탄도미사일 발사 추가 제재로 이어지나?... 트럼프 "그저 작은 시험 했을 뿐"While there are voices in the U.S. calling for more sanctions on the North for their recent missile launch,... such seems unlikely, with the U.S. President and his Secretary of State both downplaying its significance.Lee Ji-won has more.The United Nations Security Council resolutions on North Korea clearly condemn its ballistic missile activity and call on the regime to put an end to it.Thus, North Korea's firing of ballistic missiles on Thursday clearly violates those resolutions.But whether or not this will result in more sanctions on the North remains to be seen."Not all ballistic missile launches have resulted in additional sanctions. Normally, new resolutions and sanctions are prompted by nuclear tests and long-range missiles but not short or mid-range missiles. These launches were short-range, and South Korea was the only country within striking distance. So whether or not the Security Council will meet and take up the issue depends on the South."On a similar note, President Donald Trump downplayed the missile launch on Thursday in an interview with Fox News.Trump said he gets along with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un very well, and that the North has not conducted nuclear testing or anything more than launching short-range missiles, which he said is something that many others do too.This is in line with what he said about the North's launches in May when he called the missiles "some small weapons".However, he also warned the North on Thursday against further provocations, saying that though the two enjoy a good relationship, there's no guarantee that will continue.Trump's top diplomat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, described the launch as a negotiating tactic.In an interview Thursday with Bloomberg Television, Pompeo said everybody tries to prepare for negotiations by creating leverage and risk for the other side.The door to diplomacy with North Korea, he said, remains open, and he anticipates working-level talks to take place in a couple of weeks.Pompeo also suggested that he isn't bothered by the delay, saying the two sides need to have enough conversations to produce "productive dialogue" when they sit at the table.The leaders of North Korea and the U.S. promised to resume talks within two or three weeks when they met last month at the DMZ, but that timeframe has come and gone.Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.