The US has sent mixed messages regarding the North's missile launches on May 9, with President Donald Trump saying he views them "differently" from his own national security adviser, John Bolton, who condemned them as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang. Pompeo said in an interview with US-based Sinclair Broadcast Group during a trip to Bern, Switzerland that North Korea probably did violate the UN Security Council resolutions, but what's most important to the United States is also the highest priority for the world  at large, and that is the resolution which is being sought.

Pompeo pointed to the importance of enforcing sanctions under UN resolutions to prompt North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.