The US is ready to use military force to defend the country and its allies against a North Korean threat if necessary, but it prefers to use its clout in international trade to address the growing threat, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said during  an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council following Pyongyang’s successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, AP reported.

According to her, the US does not seek a conflict — “in fact we seek to avoid it.” But she said the launch of an ICBM “is a clear and sharp military escalation” and the U.S. is prepared to use its “considerable military forces” to defend itself and its allies “if we must.” But Haley said the Trump's administration prefers “not to go in that direction” but to use its “great capabilities in the area of trade” to address “those who threaten us and ... those who supply the threats.” 

Haley announced that the U.S. will put forward a new Security Council resolution in the coming days “that raises the international response in a way that is proportionate to North Korea’s escalation.”