US to use force on N. Korea ‘if we must’

> Pentagon says it can counter missile threat

NEW YORK: The US cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile programme but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska.

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley ( pix) told a meeting of the UN Security Council that North Korea’s actions were “quickly closing off the possibility of a diplomatic solution” and the US was prepared to defend itself and its allies.

“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,” Haley said.

She urged China, North Korea’s only major ally, to do more to rein in Pyongyang.

Speaking with his Japanese counterpart Tomomi Inada on Wednesday, US defence secretary James Mattis underscored the “ironclad commitment” of the United States to defending Japan and providing “extended deterrence using the full range of US capabilities”, Pentagon spokesman Dana White said.

North Korea on Tuesday test launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that some experts believe has the range to reach Alaska, Hawaii and perhaps the Pacific Northwest.

North Korea says the missile could carry a large nuclear warhead.

Concerns over its implications are mounting in South Korea.

“A North Korean ICBM carrying a nuclear warhead is a game-changer,” the JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial yesterday.

“What worries us is the uncertainty of whether the US would defend us if North Korea attacks Seoul. We cannot be sure if the US would risk a nuclear attack on New York or Los Angeles.”

The Pentagon assured Americans on Wednesday that it is capable of defending the US against North Korean ICBMs.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis noted a successful test last month in which a USbased missile interceptor knocked down a simulated incoming North Korean ICBM.

“So we do have confidence in our ability to defend against the limited threat, the nascent threat that is there,” he said.

Haley said the US would propose new UN sanctions on North Korea in coming days and warned that if Russia and China did not support the move, then “we will go our own path”. – Agencies