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Nikki Haley: Kim Jong Un 'begging for war'
Haley: Kim Jong Un 'begging for war'
Story highlights
- US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said North Korea was "begging for war"
- Haley spoke at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council
(CNN)US
Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Monday that North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "begging for war" as she urged the UN
Security Council to adopt the strongest sanctions measures possible to
stop Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Speaking
at a Security Council emergency meeting, Haley said North Korea's sixth
nuclear test was a clear sign that "the time for half measures" from
the UN had to end.
"Enough is enough," Haley said. "We have taken an incremental approach, and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked."
Haley
began her statement by ticking through all of the resolutions the
Security Council has passed in response to North Korea's provocations
over the past two-plus decades, making the point that the UN has been
united condemning Pyongyang but the efforts have not managed to stop its
nuclear progress.
She said the US
does not want war but will defend itself when North Korea is issuing
threats with missiles pointed at US territories.
"War
is never something the Unites States wants -- we don't want it now,"
Haley said. "But our country's patience is not unlimited. We will defend
our allies and our territory."
At
the conclusion of the meeting, Haley said that the US would circulate a
resolution in response to the nuclear test, with plans for a vote on it
next week.
"I think that North
Korea has basically slapped everyone in the face in the international
community that has asked them to stop," Haley said.
While
details of a resolution weren't discussed on Monday, South Korea's
Ambassador to the UN Cho Tae-yul said it had to be "truly biting."
"Now
is the time to take measures that are strong and robust enough to
compel North Korea to seriously engage in dialogue," he said. "The new
resolution must include not only additional measures to further block
funds that could possibly flow into North Korea's illegal nuclear
program, but also truly biting and robust measures that Pyongyang finds
very painful."
South Korea's response
South Korea launched a major military show of force on Monday in response to the latest nuclear test from the North, including live-fire drills simulating an attack on Pyongyang's nuclear testing site.
South
Korea's defense ministry said Monday the drills were intended to
demonstrate Seoul's willingness to "wipe out" the regime of Kim Jong Un,
while South Korean defense officials also noted there were signs North
Korea was preparing for another launch of an intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM).
Seoul said that it
would activate four Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launch
pads, the US missile defense system intended to shoot down potential
missiles shot from Pyongyang.
The
THAAD deployment, however, has sparked criticisms from Russia and China,
and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Monday that
Moscow might increase its missile presence in the Pacific to respond to
the THAAD deployment. Neither Russia nor China mentioned the missile
defense deployment at the Security Council meeting, however.
Leaders discussing next steps
US President Donald Trump spoke by phone
Monday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a 40-minute phone
call, according to Park Soo-hyun, a spokesman for South Korea's
presidential office. They discussed responses to North Korea's nuclear
test and agreed to lift restrictions on the payload weight of South
Korea's ballistic missiles.
The
phone call came after Trump issued a tweet Sunday criticizing the new
South Korean leader's approach to North Korea. "South Korea is finding,
as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea
will not work, they only understand one thing!" Trump wrote.
It was one of a number of conversations Monday between world leaders in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test.
Moon
also spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which
Seoul said the two leaders discussed cutting off Pyongyang's crude oil
supplies and sources for foreign currency.
And
Trump also spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday.
Merkel's spokesman said the German leader confirmed to Trump that
Germany would work with the European Union for new and stricter
sanctions against North Korea.
US, China tensions over Pyongyang
Monday's
Security Council meeting was convened in response to North Korea's
latest nuclear test, but it's the 10th time that the council has met on
North Korea this year -- and the second time in less than a week,
according to Jeffrey Feltman, UN undersecretary for political affairs.
In
addition to his appeasement tweet, Trump has said in recent days that
"talking is not the answer," and Defense Secretary James Mattis warned
on Sunday of a "massive military response" to any threat from North
Korea against the US or its allies.
But
Trump has also targeted China as complicit in allowing North Korea's
nuclear program to march on. On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the US was
considering "stopping all trade with any country doing business with
North Korea," which would include China.
At
the UN meeting Monday, Chinese Ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi said the
situation was "falling into a vicious circle" and urged North Korea to
"stop taking actions that are wrong."
"We
strongly urge the DPRK to face up squarely to the firm will of the
international community on the issue of the denuclearization of the
peninsula and earnestly abide by the relevant resolutions of the
council."
At the same time, Liu cautioned against any military option.
"The peninsula issue must be resolved peacefully," he said. "China will never allow chaos and war on the peninsula."
Liu
touted a proposal from China and Russia of a "suspension for
suspension," also known as "freeze for freeze," where Pyongyang would
freeze its nuclear program in exchange for the US and South Korea
suspending joint military exercises.
But before he spoke, Haley called such a proposal "insulting."
"The
idea that some have suggested a so-called 'freeze for freeze' is
insulting," she said. "When a rogue regime has a nuclear weapon and an
ICBM pointed at you, you do not take steps to lower your guard. No one
would do that. We certainly won't."
Asked
after the Security Council meeting about Haley's "insulting" comment,
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told reporters he was
"wondering" what was insulting about their proposal.
"This is the only proposal for a political way out," Nebenzia said.
Haley
also indirectly called out China for its trade with North Korea, saying
the United States would look at every country that does business with
Pyongyang "as a country that is giving aid to their reckless and
dangerous intentions."
She said
that quickly enacting the strongest possible sanctions in the Security
Council was the only way to resolve the issue diplomatically.
"We've kicked the can down the road long enough," Haley said. "There is no more road left."
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