Former US General John Keane suggested Tuesday in a statement to the Times that a military strike maybe the only solution to foil North Korea's nuclear program. Keane, who refused US President Donald Trump's offer to assume the secretary of defense position last year, said: "A pre-emptive strike against launch facilities, underground nuclear sites, artillery and rocket response forces and regime leadership targets may be the only option left on the table," He explained: "Our attempts to leverage China in the past have failed miserably. Sanctions have not worked against North Korea and I doubt more sanctions will and I don't believe sanctions against China will work any better," "We are rapidly and dangerously moving towards a military solution," he added. Keane's assessment comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next Thursday and Friday in Mar A Lago, Florida, where the North Korea's nuclear program is expected to be the focus of the meeting. Trump tweeted Thursday that the meeting with his Chinese counterpart would be "very difficult," especially because of trade differences between the two powers. While, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley revealed on Sunday that the United States intends to pressure China for further action to stop North Koreas' nuclear program. North Korea has sought to develop a nuclear program for years. In 2006, despite sanctions and economic difficulties, North Korea began testing its first nuclear weapon. It has since carried out more successful tests in 2009 and 2013.
