US ‘ready to use force to stop Korea’

Countries threatened over trade links

THE US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has warned America is prepared to use military force against North Korea in the wake of its latest missile test.

Ms Haley said the test of the intercontinental ballistic missile, which experts assessed might be able to hit Alaska, was “reckless and irresponsible” and a “clear and sharp military escalation”.

Addressing the UN Security Council, she said the US was prepared to use its full range of capabilities, including military force, to deter North Korea.

“One of our capabilities lies with our considerable military forces,” she said.

“We will use them if we must, but we prefer not to have to go in that direction.”

Other deterrence strategies included harsher sanctions on the country, which Ms Haley said she would propose in the coming days, and cutting off trade with countries that continued trade with North Korea.

The comments came the day after North Korea tested an ICBM it claimed could strike “the heart of the United States”.

Pentagon officials said the missile, believed to be a modified KN-17 liquid fuel device, was something they had “never seen before”.

The US responded with a joint military exercise with South Korea, firing ballistic missiles into the sea along the east of the Korean Peninsula.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US sought the peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the end of North Korea’s threatening actions.

The day after the test, Mr Trump lashed out at China for not putting economic pressure on North Korea.

“Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter,” he tweeted. “So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!”

Ms Haley doubled down on these comments, chastising those countries she said were “encouraging” trade with North Korea.

“Such countries would also like to continue their trade arrangements with the United States. That’s not going to happen,” she said.