US General reveals how 'horrific' war between United States, N Korea would play out
A war between the United States and North Korea would be “unlike any we have experienced”, according to one top US military chief.
General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that escalating tensions between the two countries would lead to a devastating loss of life in a war he described as “horrific”.
He told the Aspen Security Forum: “Many people have talked about military options (against North Korea) with words like ‘unimaginable.’
“I would shift that slightly to ‘horrific’.
“It would be a loss of life unlike any we have experienced in our lifetimes and I mean anyone who’s been alive since World War II has never seen the loss of life that could occur if there’s a conflict on the Korean Peninsula.”
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The US army said it is ready to defend itself from any North Korea missile attack, although General Dunford stressed it was important to continue to apply economic and diplomatic pressure against the notoriously secretive state.
General Dunford added: “It is not unimaginable to have military options to respond to North Korean nuclear capability.
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“What’s unimaginable to me is allowing a capability that would allow a nuclear weapon to land in Denver, Colorado."
“That’s unimaginable to me," he said.
“So my job will be to develop military options to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Last month North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, that South Korea’s defence ministry said could have a range of up to 8,000km – making it capable of reaching Hawaii.
