U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly said that "bad things happen" in countries where information is denied to their people, singling out North Korea and China.

Pompeo made the remarks on Friday in an interview with the Christian radio program "Focus on the Family," saying that some leaders choose to use propaganda and disinformation to gain power and social status. 

According to a transcript released by the State Department, Pompeo said that when he sees what takes place inside other countries where they are denied information, whether it's North Korea or China, bad things happen.

He added that the Chinese Communist Party tried to suppress information about the coronavirus, where it began, how it started and how it was being transmitted from human to human. It also employed the World Health Organization to further that storyline.

Pompeo did not specify what he meant by "bad things," but his remarks appear to be mainly directed at China over its alleged lack of transparency in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.