US says time for talk on N.Korea ‘is over’

WASHINGTON – Agence France-Presse

The United States said July 30 the time for talk over North Korea was “over,” spurning a U.N. response to Pyongyang’s latest ICBM launch in favor of bomber flights and missile defense system tests.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, 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 Jong-Un boasted of his country’s ability to strike any target in the U.S. after an intercontinental ballistic missile test July 28 that weapons experts said could even bring New York into range -- in a major challenge to Trump.

U.S. strategic bombers on July 29 flew over the Korean peninsula in a direct response to the launch, and on July 30 American forces successfully tested a missile interception system the U.S. hopes will be installed on the Korean peninsula.

Under Kim’s leadership, North Korea has accelerated its drive towards a credible nuclear strike capability, in defiance of international condemnation and multiple sets of U.N. sanctions.

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 wrote.

“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.”

Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of U.S. treaty ally Japan, also urged Beijing to act -- along with Moscow -- after telephone talks with Trump on July 31.

The North had “trampled all over” efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the situation and “unilaterally escalated” tensions.

“The international community including China and Russia must take it seriously and step up pressure,” he told reporters.