22 September, 2017
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday the UN Security Council has run out of options on containing North Korea's nuclear program and the United States may have to turn the matter over to the Pentagon.
Haley also warned of a tougher USA response to future North Korean provocations, saying the Security Council has "pretty much exhausted" all of its options and that she would be happy to turn the matter over to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis "because he has plenty of military options". For the first time, he will attend the annual United Nations General Assembly in NY, which brings together leaders of the 193 member nations for a week of meetings and speeches.
"As North Korea continues its illegal nuclear weapons program, commits blatant violations of worldwide law, and makes threats to our country and allies, the confirmation of a U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea must be prioritized", the letter said.
He added that the president will make the case that those values are now "under attack" from threats like North Korea and terrorism.
U.N. Ambassador to the United States Nikki Haley discusses the North Korean issue with reporters at the White House on Friday. "But I think we all know that, basically, if North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed". And none of us want that. "None of us want war".
"We're trying every other possibility that we have, but there's a whole lot of military options on the table", she said.
The authors also called for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs as well as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, saying that permanent appointees would help ensure that recent sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs were properly enforces.
"To be clear, we seek a peaceful solution to this", Tillerson said.
Trump heads to the U.N. General Assembly meeting next week with the same suitcase of bad options as his predecessors.
He posted on Twitter: "I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night". Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Facing an escalating nuclear threat from North Korea and the mass flight of minority Muslims from Myanmar, world leaders gather at the United Nations starting Monday, Sept. 18 to tackle these and other tough challenges _ from the spread of terrorism to a warming planet.
"President Trump and President Moon committed to continuing to take steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities, and to maximize economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea", the White House said in a statement.
On Sunday, he warned of imminent danger from Pyongyang.
Mattis has warned the consequences of any military action would be "tragic on an unbelievable scale" and bring severe risk to US ally South Korea.
The remarks also came after H R McMaster, the US' National Security Adviser, reaffirmed that the Trump administration has military options in place for dealing with North Korea.
"I personally think he slaps the right people, he hugs the right people, and he comes out with [the] US being very strong in the end", she said.
Analysts say that in the event of hostilities, millions of people in the Seoul area - as well as the 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea - would be vulnerable to attack by the thousands of artillery pieces the North has positioned near the border, with potentially staggering casualties.
During an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation" on September 17, Tillerson described the US strategy as a "peaceful pressure campaign" on Pyongyang created to bring North Korea to the table for "constructive, productive dialogue".
"What we have to make sure is that no deal can provide cover for the Iranian regime to develop a nuclear weapon in a clandestine manner while they're reaping all the benefits of this deal", McMaster said.
