The U.S. and Russia clashed at the United Nations Security Council over how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program, a confrontation throwing into doubt U.S. hopes for an international diplomatic solution to the burgeoning crisis.
The standoff between diplomats on Wednesday came just two days before President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin plan to hold their first meetingduring the summit of the Group of 20 leading nations in Germany, raising the stakes for both leaders as well as China, which will attend the international gathering.
Following North Korea’s July 4 launch of its first intercontinental ballistic missile, deemed by U.S. officials to be capable of reaching Alaska, U.S. officials invoked direct threats of military action as they tried to marshal coordinated international action.
At the U.N., U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley warned diplomats that “time is short” for diplomatic action and said the Trump administration would be willing to use military force if punitive restrictions failed to deter North Korea from its plans to perfect a weapon that can strike the U.S.
In Seoul, Gen. Vincent Brooks, the top American military commander in South Korea, said the U.S. and South Korea were prepared to go to war with the North if given the order.
“Self restraint, which is a choice, is all that separates armistice and war,” Gen. Brooks said. “We are able to change our choice when so ordered.…It would be a grave mistake for anyone to believe anything to the contrary.”
U.S. officials for years have said an attack on North Korea would have devastating results in the form of a counterattack on South Korea and possibly Japan. READ MORE
