U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said China was no longer enforcing sanctions on North Korea as strictly as it was six to 12 months ago.

Speaking during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on State Department funding, Pompeo told assembled Senators that Beijing’s enforcement had slipped from previous levels which, he argued, constituted an all-time high.

“It is the set case that we have observed China not enforcing control over their cross-border areas as vigorously as they were six or 12 months ago,” Pompeo said, adding that there had been a “modest amount” of backsliding by Beijing in recent weeks.

The