International
Subject: UN chief warns world leaders against ‘fiery talk’ on North Korea
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General has warned world leaders to take the threat of ‘nuclear peril’ seriously even as he discouraged ‘fiery talk’ on North Korea led by Kim Jong Un.
“We must not sleepwalk our way into war,” said Guterres on Tuesday at the annual summit of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
“When tensions rise, so does the chance of miscalculation. Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings,” he said in his first state-of-the-world report since taking the top job at the UN on January 1.
“The solution must be political. This is a time for statesmanship.”
His message on “fiery” rhetoric was implicitly directed at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but also at the United States and President Donald Trump, who later warned of “totally destroying North Korea” if it does not back down.
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“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” Trump told the UNGA, shortly after Guterres’ speech.
“‘Rocket Man’ is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary,” Trump added, referring to the North Korean leader with a nickname he gave last week on Twitter.
24-hours ago, North Korea’s leader Kim declared that continued sanctions on Pyongyang will only amount to increased “pace towards the ultimate completion of the state nuclear force”.
Those comments were made moments after US and Chinese leaders agreed to “maximise the pressure” on Kim’s regime after the UN tried to curb Pyongyang’s sources of income by slamming the pariah nations with fresh sanctions.
Two days ago, US ambassador to UN, Nikki Haley also issued a stern warning to Pyongyang saying it will be destroyed if it continues its “reckless behavior”.
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