Yonhap — U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley warned North Korea on Monday not to give it a reason to have a fight with the communist nation amid heightened concern Pyongyang might carry out its sixth nuclear test.
“What we’ve said from the beginning and what I’ll continue to say is the United States is not looking for a fight. So don’t give us a reason to have one,” the envoy said on NBC’s “Today.”
Tensions with North Korea have escalated again in the run-up to Tuesday’s anniversary of the founding of the North’s military amid fears Pyongyang could mark the holiday with a nuclear test in what would be a brazen defiance of the U.S. and the international community.
Adding to the tensions is the North’s detention of a third American citizen last week.
Haley said the U.S. is working closely with China to rein in the North.
“Kim Jong-un is starting to flex his muscles because he feels the pressure. Last week, the Security Council unanimously condemned what North Korea’s doing with their testing. China has been considerably helpful in putting pressure on him,” Haley said, referring to last week’s Security Council press statement unanimously condemning the North’s latest missile launch.
“I think he’s just trying to show his strength to the people of his country, but it’s not going to work,” she said.
China has “really been our partner in trying to make sure that we hold him at bay,” the envoy said.
“I think it’s a new day when you’ve got China and the United States working together on a statement to condemn North Korea. They’ve put pressure on him. He feels it. That’s why he’s responding this way and I think it is a different day,” she said.
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