A top Pentagon official said Tuesday that the United States is unsure why North Korea did not conduct provocative military action during the holiday season. In early December, North Korea has promised the U.S. a “Christmas gift,” which analysts believe would be the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), but Pyongyang never followed through with its threat.

“Predicting North Korea’s future behavior is always hazardous,” Undersecretary of Defense for policy John Rood told the House Armed Services Committee. “We don’t know fully the reasons why the North Koreans did not engage in more provocative behavior, which they seemed to be hinting they were planning to do in December.”

North Korea has grown tired of the debilitating sanctions placed on its economy. The U.S. has been willing to relieve sanctions on the isolated Asian country in exchange for a promise from Pyongyang to pursue a path to denuclearization.

The last time U.S. and North Korea negotiators met for talks was in Sweden in October, but diplomatic negotiations fell through on the first day of meetings.

North Korea has recently said that it felt “deceived” by the U.S. due to the lack of progress on negotiations. During his New Year’s address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that Pyongyang will unveil a “strategic weapon” in 2020.

North Korea may have not given the U.S. its “Christmas gift” due to the friendly relationship between Kim and Trump. The two leaders have sent friendly letters to each other. Trump and Kim have also met in Vietnam and Singapore for nuclear talks, but failed to reach a concrete agreement on the issue.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that North Korea would likely never give up its nuclear arsenal, while Democrats have criticized Trump for not doing more to counter North Korean aggression. Pyongyang has frequently shot off missiles in recent years, which has disturbed its East Asian neighbors in the region, Japan and South Korea.

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