UNITED NATIONS: U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley says the United States has to see "some sort of positive action" from North Korea before it can take Kim Jong Un's regime seriously and discuss ways to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula.
China called earlier Wednesday for North Korea to suspend nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military exercises by the U.S. and North Korea.
Haley said the exercises are defensive and have been held for 40 years.
She told reporters after emergency closed consultations of the Security Council later Wednesday that the North Korean leader is not "a rational person" taking rational actions.
Haley said the United States is re-evaluating its dealings with North Korea "and we will act accordingly."
"We're not ruling anything out and we're considering every option that's on the table," she said.
China's U.N. ambassador is calling for a reduction in tensions and a return to talks aimed at denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's latest ballistic missile tests.
Liu Jieyi told reporters as he headed into Wednesday's closed Security Council consultations on the launches that all countries need to fully implement U.N. sanctions resolutions and "not do anything to exacerbate tensions."
His comments follow China's calls earlier Wednesday for North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military exercises conducted by the U.S. and North Korea.
The Security Council late Tuesday strongly condemned the North's missile tests and "increasingly destabilizing behavior" and defiance of its resolutions. It said the missile activity increases tensions in the region and beyond.