The Bush administration warned North Korea on Thursday that it had "robust plans for any contingencies" and though it has no intention of invading, the U.S. is capable of simultaneous military action there and in Iraq.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he believed a diplomatic solution could be found, and he said the U.S. was telling its allies, including China, that they must share the responsibility for keeping North Korea from producing nuclear weapons.
But Powell, responding to sharp criticism from Senate Democrats, said that although President Bush favors a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis, he has not ruled out any options, including military action or sanctions.
Even as they praised Powell for his Iraq presentation to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, and promised to increase the State Department's budget next year to conduct assertive diplomacy around the world, Senate Democrats lambasted the administration for allowing the North Korean crisis to fester while it focused on Iraq. Source.
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