Nikki Haley says 'ball's in their court' after U.N. North Korea missile test sanctions

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has called newly-approved sanctions on North Korea "a gut punch" to that country and has warned of a possible military action, should the regime continue its nuclear programmes.

"What I will tell you from the United States' perspective, we're prepared to do whatever it takes to defend ourselves and defend our allies," Haley told CNN.

"The ball is in North Korea's court. They now have to decide where they want to go from here. We hope that they will go the route of peace and security."

"I think the administration has said and will continue to say that North Korea has acted recklessly, irresponsibly, and it has to stop. We have tried to say multiple times that all options are on the table," she added.

Haley praised the unanimous vote on the resolution, saying that the United Nations "spoke with one voice."

"To have China stand with us, along with Japan and South Korea and the rest of the international community telling North Korea to do this, it's pretty impactful. This was a strong day in the UN, it was a strong day for the United States and it was a strong day for the international community. It was not a good day for North Korea," she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has often stirred up a storm on Twitter owing to his tweets. When asked about this sort of "Twitter diplomacy," Haley said she has not received complaints.

"I have not had one country complain to me about the President's tweets. This is a president who communicates through Twitter as much as he communicates through anything else. The countries pay attention. Never have they complained because, to them, they know where he stands and what he stands for," Haley told CNN.

Earlier, the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted to impose wide-ranging sanctions against North Korea for its continued intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing and violations of other U.N. resolutions.

The sanctions resolution targets North Korea's primary exports, including coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood.