U.S. eyes several options towards North Korean nuclear threat
By Kamila Aliyeva
The U.S. continues diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korea crisis, but is not ruling out military options, U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson said.
“We will continue our efforts in the diplomatic arena but all of our military options, as the president has said, [are] on the table. And once we can assess the nature of this threat the president will make a decision regarding the appropriate actions,” Tillerson told the ABC network on September 22, when asked what the United States would do if North Korea were to detonate a hydrogen bomb.
Tillerson said Washington is "engaging with North Korea's most important supporters, economic supporters… China and Russia to have them also engaged with Pyongyang on this issue."
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert also confirmed that the country is considering military option.
“We have several options for reaction, including the military one,” Nauert said on CNN, answering the question on how Washington will react to North Korean statements about the possibility of testing a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.
At the same time, she stressed that for now the "diplomatic option" remains the main one for addressing the North Korean nuclear threat.
President Donald Trump, speaking at the UN, threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if forced to defend the United States or its allies.
North Korea was quick to announce it could conduct another hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific. Kim accused Trump of exhibiting "mentally deranged behavior" and threatened him with a harsh response.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously imposed a set of sanctions against North Korea on September 11 over the country’s hydrogen bomb test which was conducted on September 3.
The sanctions included limits on import of crude oil and oil products, a ban on textile exports and new visas for North Korean oversees workers.
However, North Korea tested another missile on September 15 in response to the latest set of sanctions imposed by the UN.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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