US ‘seriously looking at’ possible attack on North Korea, claims senior Republican

DONALD TRUMP’S administration is “very seriously” considering military options for the North Korea nuclear stand-off, a Republican congressional chairman has revealed.

Mac Thornberry, who heads up the House Armed Services Committee, told The Daily Telegraph that officials were looking into ammunition and deployment issues linked to military involvement. He said such efforts were not being undertaken for “token” reasons but because it was “prudent” to make such preparations, given the instability in the region.

The comments suggest that Mr Trump’s talk of a military option being “on the table” to deal with the nuclear threat is not simply being used rhetorically.

It comes after this newspaper revealed that US officials were working up plans for a “bloody nose” military attack on North Korea to deter further nuclear development.

Mr Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, was talking to the Defence Writers Group, which is linked to George Washington University. Mr Thornberry was asked by The Daily Telegraph how seriously the US administration was looking at military options for solving the North Korea stand-off. “I think the administration is very seriously looking at what would be involved with military options when it comes to North Korea. And options is plural,” Mr Thornberry said.

“But you have to be serious about these things, you can’t just make a token effort. And being serious about it means working through logistics and ammunition and which forces would be required for which missions and when they needed to be there. It’s lots of detail.”

The comments are likely to cause alarm among European allies who have been lobbying American officials to focus on diplomatic rather than military options.