LOC18:57
15:57 GMT
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump Tuesday warned that America would have no choice but to "totally destroy North Korea" in retaliation against Pyongyang's nuclear missile tests, saying that diplomacy remains an option.
"We will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea, the US is willing and able but hopefully this will not be necessary," Trump said in his first speech before the UN General Assembly (UNGA), sending a bold warning to Pyongyang that its nuclear missile tests might not be tolerated for long.
"North Korea's reckless use of nuclear missiles threaten the entire region and people," he said of Pyongyang's nuclear and Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests.
Trump said it was time for North Korea to realize that denuclearization was the only acceptable future for the Korean Peninsula, urging the international community to isolate the regime of Kim Jong-un "to end its hostile behavior."
He blamed the North Korean regime for the starvation and deaths of millions of Koreans, as well as the imprisonment of many more.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) overwhelmingly approved last week fresh sanctions against North Korea following the country's missile tests, amid growing international concern over Pyongyang's missile program. (end)
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