U.S. President Donald Trump urged countries to be “tough and decisive” on North Korea after the UN Security Council voted to impose new sanctions on the secretive state while the U.S. ambassador warned the ball is now in Kim Jong-un’s court.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that “after many years of failure, countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea.”
“We must be tough & decisive!” the president tweeted.
On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted 15-0 to impose new sanctions on North Korea over its recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests. The U.S.-drafted resolution could effectively slash nearly $1 billion of the country’s export revenue.
READ MORE: UN imposes new sanctions on North Korea
“We should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem. Not even close. The North Korean threat has not left us, it is rapidly growing more dangerous,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council.
“Further action is required. The United States is taking and will continue to take prudent defensive measures to protect ourselves and our allies,” she said. Washington would continue annual joint military exercises with South Korea, Haley said.
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On Tuesday, Haley reiterated her comments, saying “all options are on the table.”
“I know the president is prepared to defend the American people. I know the president is prepared to do whatever it takes and so now all the balls lie in Kim’s court, in North Korea,” the U.S. ambassador told NBC’s Today show.
WATCH: Haley says Trump ‘prepared to do whatever it takes’ in response to N. Korea
North Korea vowed a harsh response to the new sanctions and said it would never place its nuclear program on the negotiating table.
“We will make the U.S. pay by a thousand-fold for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country,” the country said through its state media on Sunday.
READ MORE: U.S. bans Americans from travelling to North Korea, Canada leaves options open
Last week, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested that eventually there will be war between the U.S. and the North Korean regime if it continues with its weapons program.
WATCH: Trump told Sen. Graham any war with N. Korea would happen ‘over there’
Graham told the Today Show that Trump won’t allow the “ability of this mad man (North Korea leader Kim Jong-un) to have a missile to hit America.
“If there’s going to be a war to stop him, it will be over there. If thousands die they’re going to die over there, they’re not going to die here. And he has told me that to my face,” Graham said. “That may be proactive, but not really. When you’re president of the United States, where does your allegiance lie? To the people of the United States.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador to the UN was asked if Trump had said a similar thing to her as he did to Graham.
“He has not said that but what he has said is all options are on the table and the discussions we’ve had, we will do whatever it takes in order to counter North Korea,” Haley told the Today Show.
READ MORE: Air France expanding ‘non-flyover’ area around North Korea following ICBM test
North Korea conducted two ICBM tests in July. Experts believe the latest test shows the country theoretically has the ability to reach major U.S. cities with its weapons program.
The ICBM test lasted about 45 minutes and the missile reached an altitude of about 3,700 kilometres before splashing down in the Sea of Japan.
The Union of Concerned Scientists reported shortly after Friday’s test, that based on the preliminary numbers of flight time and distance travelled, if the rocket was launched at a “standard trajectory” it would have a reach of just over 10,000 kilometres.
-with a file from Reuters
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