‘All options on table’ to deal with North Korea

US PRESIDENT George Bush yesterday said “all options are on the table” for dealing with North Korea, but he expected a nuclear standoff to be resolved diplomatically.

Bush, who was criticised in Congress on Thursday for failing to pay sufficient attention to North Korea as he geared up for possible war with Iraq, said he had spoken with Chinese President Jiang Zemin to seek China’s help in resolving the crisis over North Korea’s resumption of its nuclear program.

“All options are on the table, but I believe we can solve this diplomatically,” Bush told reporters. He was asked about a North Korean warning this week that it might strike the US preemptively, and whether he was prepared to use military force in North Korea.