The U.S. military flew two strategic bombers over the Korean peninsula in a show of force late on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump met top defence officials to discuss how to respond to any threat from North Korea.
Tensions have soared between the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Tuesday that while the United States has military options, “diplomacy is the first approach.”
“No one wants to go to war with another country. We want diplomacy,” Nauert said at a briefing. “We want a peaceful Korean Peninsula, and the world agrees with us on this.”
“No one prefers the military response, but that is there to back us up if our allies would need it or if we would need that,” Nauert said.
Pyongyang on Sept. 3 detonated a hydrogen bomb capable of being carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), marking the sixth nuclear test it has undertaken, running counter to relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions and the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Reiterating that the “dual-track approach” and the “suspension for suspension” initiative are practical methods to solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang has called on all relevant parties to actively support China’s efforts to push for dialogue and negotiation, and play a constructive role for a peaceful solution of the issue.
