Kim ‘begging for war’, US tells UN
UNITED NATIONS: North Korea’s leader is ‘‘begging for war’’, the American ambassador said at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council yesterday, as members called for punishing the reclusive country with even stronger sanctions for its powerful nuclear test.
Ambassador Nikki Haley said the United States would look at countries doing business with the North - which include China - and planned to circulate a resolution this week with the goal of getting it approved on September 11.
‘‘Enough is enough. War is never something the United States wants. We don’t want it now. But our country’s patience is not unlimited,’' Haley said.
‘‘The United States will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country, that is giving aid to their reckless and dangerous nuclear intentions.’’
The move came as South Korea said it was seeing preparations in the North for an ICBM test and fired missiles into the sea to simulate an attack on the North’s main nuclear test site.
Also yesterday, US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and agreed that Monday’s underground nuclear test by North Korea was an unprecedented provocation. The two leaders also agreed to remove the limit on the payload of South Korean missiles.
The emergency UN session was scheduled after North Korea said it detonated a hydrogen bomb, and came six days after the council strongly condemned what it called Pyongyang’s ‘‘outrageous’' launch of a ballistic missile over Japan. Less than a month ago, the council imposed its stiffest sanctions yet on Kim Jong-un’s reclusive nation.
Still, the US resolution faces an uncertain future. Russia and China have proposed a twopronged approach: North Korea would suspend its nuclear and missile development, and the US and South Korea would suspend joint military exercises. Washington and Seoul say the manoeuvres are defensive, but Pyongyang views them as a rehearsal for invasion.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said sanctions alone would not solve the issue and that negotiations were needed as well.
Diplomats from France, Britain, Italy and other countries reiterated demands for Kim’s regime to halt its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes and urged further sanctions.
‘‘Pyongyang poses a clear threat to international peace and security and is increasingly and seriously challenging the global nonproliferation regime,’' said Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi of Italy, which heads the North Korea sanctions compliance committee.
The North said its sixth nuclear test since 2006 was a ‘‘perfect success’'.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi said the situation on the Korean peninsula ‘‘is deteriorating constantly as we speak, falling into a vicious circle’’. He called for restarting talks, and asked Washington and Seoul to suspend their exercises.
The council aimed to take a big bite out of North Korea’s economy earlier this month by banning it from exporting coal, iron, lead and seafood. Together, those are worth about a third of the country’s exports.
The council could look to sanction other profitable North Korean exports, such as textiles. Another possibility could be tighter limits on North Korean labourers abroad; the recent sanctions banned the issung of new permits for such workers. The US has suggested other ideas, including restricting oil to North Korea’s military and weapons programmes. - AP