North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un is ‘begging for war’, top diplomat Nikki Haley warns fiery UN Security Council session

THERESA May has clashed with Donald Trump over how to handle the North Korea nuclear crisis as the US declared Kim Jong-Un is “begging for war”.

The PM refused to back President Donald Trump’s Armageddon threat yesterday.

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Instead, No10 insisted Britain’s “overwhelming” preference was for a diplomatic resolution with a sanctions squeeze.

As the split opened up between London and Washington DC, the world’s attention switched to the UN last night when major powers met for an emergency session of the Security Council.

America briefly stepped back from its threat on Sunday to launch a “massively military response”.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s warning came after North Korea defied international anger again to test a giant hydrogen bomb that it claimed could be fitted to a ballistic missile.

Calling on the UN to impose the “strongest possible measures” against Pyongyang, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said: “The time has come to exhaust all diplomatic means before it is too late.

“War is never something the United States wants.

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“We don’t want it now, but our country’s patience is not unlimited.”

Ms Haley also warned China it could also face biting sanctions if it doesn’t step up its punishment, warning that the US “will look at every country that does business with North Korea, that is giving aid to their reckless and dangerous nuclear intentions”.

She added: “The stakes could not be higher”.

Diplomats in New York went to work last night to draw up a new sanctions resolution to go to a vote next Monday.

Britain joined the push for tougher trade sanctions against Pyongyang, that include bringing Kim’s regime to its knees with a total embargo on oil imports.

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President Trump also revealed he was considering a military attack on North Koreans on Sunday, tweeting: “They only understand one thing!”

But Downing Street distanced themselves from America’s response.

Mrs May’s spokesman said: “As the Prime Minister made clear yesterday, and the Foreign Secretary made clear, our focus is on working with partners to increase pressure on North Korea and find a diplomatic solution to the crisis”.

China’s envoy to the UN, Liu Jieyi, reiterated a call for all sides to return to negotiations, saying: “The peninsula issue must be resolved peacefully.

“China will never allow chaos and war on the peninsula.”

But Britain’s ambassador Matthew Rycroft said direct talks with North Korea were only possible if Pyongyang stopped the escalation.

He added: “Dialogue will always be our end goal but returning to dialogue without a serious sign of intent from Pyongyang would be a set-up to failure.

“North Korea must change course to allow a return to dialogue.”