May require ground invasion: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: The only certain way to locate and secure all North Korea’s nuclear weapons sites would be via a US ground invasion, the Washington Post has reported, citing a letter from Pentagon officials sent to lawmakers.

It said the letter, reportedly written by the vice director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, noted that such a conflict could prompt Pyongyang to deploy biological and chemical weapons.

The report detailing the prospect of war on the Korean peninsula comes as US President Donald Trump is on his maiden tour of Asia, with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programme expected to top the agenda.

The US defence department sent the letter in response to a request from two members of Congress for details regarding “expected casualty assessments in a conflict with North Korea” for US and allied forces in Japan, South Korea and Guam as well as civilians, the Washington Post said.

Tensions have soared over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes in recent months, goaded by Trump and Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Un’s fiery exchanges of insults and warnings of conflict.

On Saturday, North Korea welcomed Trump to the region by threatening to increase its nuclear arsenal and saying the idea of talks was “daydreaming”, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

Neither Trump nor his fierce rhetoric were mentioned in the letter, the Post said.

It did however say the military backs the current Washington approach, led by secretary of state Rex Tillerson — to wield economic sanctions and apply diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang as a means of discouraging its nuclear ambitions.