NEW YORK CITY–U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley brushed off reports that the U.S. is seeking an emergency Security Council session over North Korea, saying in a Sunday statement, “The time for talk is over.”
North Korea’s launch of a second intercontinental ballistic missile Friday—a missile some believe has the potential to reach U.S. cities—led to speculation that the U.S. would go to the U.N. to seek an emergency session and a resolution to put more pressure on the rogue state. CBS News reported Saturday that the U.S. was seeking an emergency session on Monday, but Haley shot down such reporting as “mistaken.”
“There is no point in having an emergency session if it produces nothing of consequence,” Haley said, before noting that North Korea is already the target of a number of Security Council resolutions which, she said, “they violate with impunity.”
She also indicated that there was no point in a resolution that didn’t ramp up the pressure—something China would be likely to veto.
“An additional Security Council resolution that does not significantly increase the international pressure on North Korea is of no value,” she said. “In fact, it is worse than nothing, because it sends the message to the North Korean dictator that the international community is unwilling to seriously challenge him.”
Instead, she said the ball was now in China’s court. “China must decide whether it is finally willing to take this vital step. The time for talk is over,” she said.
Haley’s statement comes a day after President Trump took aim at China over its weak stance on North Korea, accusing the Chinese of being “just talk”:
I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
…they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also accused Russia and China of being “enablers” of North Korea on Friday.
“As the principal economic enablers of North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development program, China and Russia bear unique and special responsibility for this growing threat to regional and global stability,” Tillerson said in a statement.
Haley’s push for the U.N. to get tough on the rogue regime has met with resistance from Russia and China, two of the five countries that have the power of veto.
In a tense July 5 emergency session after the North Koreans launched its first ICBM missile, both China and Russia expressed doubt about sanctions and military action, with Russia even claiming that the missile used may not have been an ICBM.
In response, Haley warned that the U.S. would “go our own path” if the Security Council did not act.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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