Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches violate a United Nations Security Council resolution, breaking with President Trump.

“The short-range missile, is that a violation? Yes,” he told reporters Wednesday while on a trip to Asia. “These were short-range missiles and those are a violation of the UNSCR.​”​

Both national security adviser John Bolton and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo considered the launches a violation, but Trump downplayed their significance during a state visit to Japan over the weekend.

​”​My people think it could have been a violation, as you know. I view it differently,”​ Trump said during a news conference ​standing next to Abe and with Bolton a few steps away.

“All I know is that there have been no nuclear tests. There have been no ballistic missiles going out. There have been no long-range missiles going out. And I think that someday we’ll have a deal,” Trump ​continued.

​North Korea test fired a number of short-range missiles on May 4 and May 9 – the first launches since 2017 – setting off alarms among US allies in the region.