Washington’s ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley claimed that “war is never something the United States wants” but its “patience is not unlimited.”

She demanded that the UN security council take the “strongest diplomatic measures,” following threats from President Donald Trump that the US might “stop trade” with any country that continues to trade with North Korea.

Japan and South Korea were also seeking to build international support for further sanctions on the North, although the UN agreed tough new restrictions on trade only recently. The South has struck a more cautious note than the US on outright conflict, with the president’s office stating that “fratricidal war … should not be repeated in this land.”