TIME FOR TALK
No point in holding fruitless Security Council session, says US envoy to UN
WASHINGTON
THE United States said on Sunday the time for talk over North Korea was “over”, spurning a United Nations response to Pyongyang’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in favour of bomber flights and missile defence system tests.
Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN, said there was “no point” in holding a fruitless emergency Security Council session, warning that a weak additional council resolution would be “worse than nothing” in light of the North’s repeated violations.
North Korean leader Kim Jongun boasted of his country’s ability to strike any target in the US after an intercontinental ballistic missile test last Friday that weapons experts said could even bring New York into range — in a major challenge to President Donald Trump.
US strategic bombers last Saturday flew over the Korean peninsula in a direct response to the launch, and on Sunday, American forces tested a missile interception system the US hopes will be installed on the Korean peninsula.
The US Senate passed new bipartisan sanctions on Pyongyang last Friday.
Haley urged China, Japan and South Korea to tighten the screws on Pyongyang.
“An additional Security Council resolution that does not significantly increase the international pressure on North Korea is of no value,” she said.
“It sends the message to the North Korean dictator that the international community is unwilling to seriously challenge him.
“China must decide whether it is finally willing to take this vital step. The time for talk is over.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump warned that he would not allow China to “do nothing” about Pyongyang.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also urged Beijing and Moscow to act after telephone talks with Trump yesterday.
In a joint mission at the weekend, US B-1B bombers along with fighter jets from the South Korean and Japanese air forces practised intercept and formation drills. It was followed by a missile defence system test, with the launch of a medium-range missile over the Pacific that was “detected, tracked and intercepted” in Alaska.
Beijing urged restraint by all sides, after the US and South Korea conducted a live-fire exercise using surface-to-surface mis- siles. AFP