North Korea To Be 'Destroyed' If Behaviour Continues - US

The US ambassador to the UN warned North Korea will be destroyed if it continues its "reckless behaviour" and forces the United States and its allies to defend themselves against any attack. 

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Sunday the UN Security Council has run out of options on containing North Korea's nuclear programme - and the US may now turn to the Pentagon. 

"We have pretty much exhausted all the things that we can do at the Security Council at this point," Haley told CNN's State of the Union.

Haley added she was perfectly happy to hand the matter to Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"We're trying every other possibility that we have but there's a whole lot of military options on the table," she said.

US National Security Adviser HR McMaster said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "going to have to give up his nuclear weapons because the president has said he's not going to tolerate this regime threatening the United States and our citizens with a nuclear weapon".

Asked if that meant Trump would launch a military strike against North Korea, McMaster said, "He's been very clear about that, that all options are on the table".