Bolton rips Trump administration’s move to block UN meeting on North Korea

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday appeared to criticize the administration’s refusal to support a United Nations (UN) meeting on North Korea’s human rights abuses. 

“Maximum pressure against North Korea’s nuclear program requires mobilizing the widest possible support,” Bolton wrote in a tweet.

He added that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “repression of his people,” “terrorist activities” and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction “all warrant the fullest scrutiny.”

“We should take the lead, not obstruct other nations,” Bolton continued. 

Maximum pressure against North Korea’s nuclear program requires mobilizing the widest possible support. Kim’s repression of his people, terrorist activities, and pursuit of WMD’s all warrant the fullest scrutiny. We should take the lead, not obstruct other nations @jonathanvswan

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) December 10, 2019

The tweet follows a Monday Foreign Policy report that said the administration blocked a meeting on North Korea’s human rights record amid increasing tensions between the two countries. 

North Korea said Sunday that it had carried out a “very important test” at a satellite launch facility. A North Korean official also warned last week that the U.S. would choose what “Christmas gift” it wants from Pyongyang and the country’s ambassador to the UN has said that denuclearization is off the table. 

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment. A department official told The New York Times that any discussions on the hermit nation should include its recent missile launches and the satellite launch site test.

A State Department official also told The Hill on Monday that the Trump administration was planning to ask the UN Security Council to discuss the country’s missile launches and the “the possibility of an escalatory” provocation from Pyongyang.