US Ambassador: Pyongyang is beggingg for a war. The patience of the US "is not without limits". For China and Russia call for efforts to curb rising tensions. Stop joint military exercises in exchange for dialogue with the North. Putin on the phone with Moon Jae-in. Trump proposes arms sales to South Korea.
New York (AsiaNews) - Several positions clashed at the United Nations Security Council emergency meeting on the latest North Korean crisis. The most "bellicose" is that of the United States. In his speech Ambassador Nikki Haley said that with the new and powerful nuclear experiment conducted two days ago, Pyongyang "is begging for a war." "War - she added - is not something the United States wants ... We do not want it, but the patience of our country is not without limits."
She reiterated that the United States has maintained for some time now that "all options", including military operations, are on the table. "
According to Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi, "the peninsula issue must be resolved peacefully," he said. "China will never allow chaos and war on the peninsula." The Chinese proposal is that Seoul and Washington end joint military exercises in exchange for freezing Pyongyang's armaments programs. The North sees the military exercises as trials for an invasion and has asked the Security Council for a meeting to discuss this issue.
Russian ambassador, Vassily Nebenzi, echoed the Chinese line, saying that military solutions cannot solve the problems of the Korean peninsula and that there is an “urgent need to maintain cool head" and "curb any action that can increase tension" .
For Haley, "the time of diplomacy is almost exhausted" and the US is calling for a resolution by September 11. Their proposal will be circulated during the week. It is likely that the document will call for new and heavier sanctions against Pyongyang, including an oil embargo that could seriously hit the North’s economy.
On the margins of the meeting in New York, a Kremlin spokesman said that it is easy to talk about war for countries far from the region [with clear reference to the US], but that countries in the region need to be more contained.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with South Korean President, Moon Jae-in. President Donald Trump also spoke on the phone with Moon proposing boost arms sales to Seoul.