MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United States continues diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korea crisis, but is not ruling out military options, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson said Friday.
“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, when asked what the United States would do if North Korea were to detonate a hydrogen bomb.
According to Tillerson, 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."
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was commenting on the issue a few days earlier, also speaking about the responsible path of diplomacy on North Korea, despite President Donald Trump's warning that Washington was ready to destroy the country and adopting sanctions.
US President Donald Trump has recently signed a new executive order expanding sanctions against Pyongyang, and threatened to "totally destroy North Korea" if immediate threats emerge, and described Kim as "Rocket Man".
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.
