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Military option against North Korea inevitable: US officials

News Agencies 2 August 2017, 16:08 IST

Military option against North Korea inevitable: US officials

United States is ready with the military options, saying, it is inevitable, if North Korea continues with its provocative acts of missile launch. However the U.S. administration has also underlined that such an action could risk thousands of lives in South Korea where millions of innocent people including 30,000 US troops are already in range of North Korea's current missile capabilities, says a report published in the CNN.

The report says, "While all war game scenarios show the US winning a military confrontation, that victory could come at the cost of hundreds of thousands of deaths, mostly in South Korea where millions of innocent people -- and nearly 30,000 US troops -- are already in range of North Korea's current missile capabilities."

U.S. officials has informed that revised military options to prevent North Korea from developing a nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States, have been prepared and will be presented to President Donald Trump soon

"There is a military option to destroy North Korea's (missile) program and North Korea itself," Graham said."If there's going to be a war to stop them, it will be over there. If thousands die, they're going to die over there, they're not going to die here and President Donald Trump told me that to my face."

He continued: "I'm saying (military options are) inevitable if North Korea continues."

"What we have to do is to prepare all options because the President has made clear to us that he will not accept a nuclear power in North Korea and a threat that can target the United States and target the American population," CNN quoted National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster as saying during remarks at a Washington think tank.

North Korea conducted test of an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 3 and July 28 and Kim Jong-un has claimed the "entire US mainland" is now within range of his Hwasong-14 missiles.

However, U.S. government believe that North Korea will not be able to launch a reliable, nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile until early 2018.

In July, CIA Chief Mike Pompeo said regime change could be a possible approach. He said that while a denuclearised Korean peninsula would a welcome development, the most dangerous thing about the weapons is Kim Jong-un.

The official said that while North Korea can currently get a missile "off the ground," a lot of undetermined variables remain about guidance, re-entry and the ability to hit a specific target.

-ANI

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