US ambassador to the UN says US will push for new sanctions after missile test and could use military if diplomacy failed
The US has said it could use its “considerable military forces” against North Korea as it made a push for new sanctions following Pyongyang’s successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this week.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, told a security council meeting the US would submit a draft resolution within days “that raises the international response in a way that is proportionate to North Korea’s escalation” but warned Washington had options if diplomacy failed.
“The United States is prepared to use the full range of our capabilities to defend ourselves and our allies, ” Haley said. “One of our capabilities lies with our considerable military forces. We will use them, if we must, but we prefer not to have to go in that direction.”
She said the US was eyeing penalties against “any country that does business with this outlaw regime”, following a tweet from the US president, Donald Trump, that attacked China over its trade ties with Pyongyang.
Some administration officials are still hoping to persuade China to increase economic pressure on Pyongyang. Trump i s scheduled to meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany that begins on Thursday.
Trump and Vladimir Putin are also expected to address growing North Korean provocations at their meeting on Friday.
Haley did not go into detail about the proposed resolution but said that if the council was united, the international community could cut off major sources of hard currency to North Korea, restrict oil to its military and weapons programs, increase air and maritime restrictions, and hold senior officials accountable.
