U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson urges U.N. to act 'before North Korea does'
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a Security Council meeting on the situation in North Korea at the United Nations (UN) in New York, U.S., April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday the threat of an attack by Pyongyang against Japan and South Korea is real and urged the U.N. Security Council to act "before North Korea does."
In remarks to the U.N. Security Council, Tillerson called on the international community to fully implement U.N. sanctions and to suspend or downgrade diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
"With each successive detonation and missile test North Korea pushes northeast Asia and the world closer to instability and broader conflict," Tillerson told the 15-member council. "The threat of a North Korean attack on Seoul or Tokyo is real."
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Frances Kerry)