U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that North Korea's recent missile tests do not violate a commitment that its leader Kim Jong-un made to U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an interview on Fox Business Network, Bolton said that the firing of four short-range ballistic missiles in the past seven days do not violate a pledge that Kim made to the president “about intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.”

The remarks represent a departure from Bolton’s previous characterization of similar missile launches in May, which the security adviser described as violations of UN resolutions.

Bolton’s assessment of this and last week’s missile launches emulate efforts by Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to downplay the provocations as they seek a diplomatic way forward with Pyongyang over the nuclear issue.

However, Bolton seemed to express more cynicism about the talks than other members of the administration, asking rhetorically “when the real diplomacy is going to begin” and that Washington is “still waiting to hear from North Korea.”

[Photo : YONHAP News]