North Korea is begging for war, says US at UNSC

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Monday said at the UN Security Council that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "begging for war," with the latest nuclear test that Pyongyang says is its first fusion device, a much more powerful weapon than it has exploded in the past.

She also warned every nation that does business with Pyongyang and is aiding its "dangerous" nuclear intentions will be on its radar.

North Korea on Sunday carried out its most powerful nuclear test to date, claiming to have developed an advanced hydrogen bomb that could sit atop an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"The time has come to exhaust all diplomatic means to end this crisis, and that means quickly enacting the strongest possible measures here in the UN Security Council," US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley said at an emergency UN Security Council briefing on North Korea.

"Only the strongest sanctions will enable us to resolve this problem through diplomacy. We have kicked the can down the road long enough. There is no more road left," she added.

She said that the North Korean nuclear program is more advanced and more dangerous than ever and the country now claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb.

"To the members of the Security Council, I must say, 'enough is enough'. The time for half measures in the Security Council is over...We must now adopt the strongest possible measures," she asserted.

Haley also sent a warning to nations who continue to do business with North Korea, saying "this crisis goes well beyond the UN".

"The United States will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country that is giving aid to their reckless and dangerous nuclear intentions," she added.

Under Secretary General Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council meeting that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres counts on the UN body to remain united and take appropriate action. 

"As was said in the Security Council meeting last week, as tensions rise, so does the risk of misunderstanding, miscalculation and escalation. The latest serious developments require a comprehensive response in order to break the cycle of provocations from the DPRK. Such a response must include wise and bold diplomacy to be effective," he said.

With the Council considering its reaction, the Secretary-General reiterates the importance of responding to humanitarian imperatives regardless of the political situation.

Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, said the latest nuclear test by North Korea represents a "grave and reckless provocation."

Cardi said Italy calls on the Security Council to adopt further measures in response to the latest nuclear test, "bearing in mind that sanctions must remain a tool for a wider strategy aimed at a peaceful and definitive solution for the Korean peninsula and the region as a whole."

"An effective sanctions regime is essential to make the DPRK leadership calculate the price of its challenge to the International Community and bring them back to the negotiating table for credible multilateral talks," he said.

Diplomats from France and Britain demanded for the North Korean regime to halt its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes and urged further sanctions.

The Security council meeting was requested by the US, Japan, France, Britain and South Korea.

With inputs from agencies