US President Donald Trump says North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test will have “consequences,” calling on US allies around the world to take action against Pyongyang.
Speaking at a press conference in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Wednesday, Trump said he was considering a “severe” response to Pyongyang’s “very bad behavior.”
“I call on all nations to confront this global threat and publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences for their very, very bad behavior,” Trump said, while standing next to his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.
“I have pretty severe things that we’re thinking about,” added Trump, saying, however, “that doesn’t mean that we’ll do them.”
North Korea announced on Tuesday it had successfully tested the missile, which Pyongyang claimed could “reach anywhere in the world.”
The North, currently under a raft of crippling United Nations sanctions over its military programs, says it will continue them until the US ends its hostility toward the country.
US intelligence agencies said the missile was most likely a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with an estimated range of 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles), capable of hitting Alaska.
Haley: US could use ‘military force’
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley openly warned on Wednesday that Washington might resort to its “considerable military forces” if Pyongyang was not willing to accept diplomatic solutions to solve the ongoing standoff between the two countries.
Speaking at the UN Security Council’s meeting about North Korea’s latest missile test, Haley said Wednesday that Pyongyang’s move amounted to a “clear and sharp military escalation” and the US was ready to respond accordingly.
“The US is prepared to use the full range of our capabilities to defend ourselves and our allies,” she said. “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.”
The Trump administration was putting together a series of punitive measures against “any country that does business with this outlaw regime,” Haley said, referring to Washington’s plans to impose harsh sanctions against North Korea and its trading partners.
The comments were an indirect jab at China, the North’s main trade ally. Earlier in the day, Trump took a tougher line with Beijing, slamming an “almost 40 percent” growth in its trading with Pyongyang.
“So much for China working with us - but we had to give it a try!” the new Republican president wrote, potentially marking the end of a short-lived cooperation with China to curb the North’s development of ballistic missiles and nuclear deterrents.
The US has already imposed sanctions against a number of Chinese banks and firms, accusing them of facilitating Pyongyang’s military programs.
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