U.S. believes current North Korea nuclear threat is manageable: White House

FILE PHOTO - White House Chief of Staff John Kelly stands close by as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said on Thursday the Trump administration thinks the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons capability is currently manageable but Pyongyang cannot be allowed to develop the ability to strike the U.S. homeland.

"A state that has developed a pretty good ICBM (missile) capability and is developing a pretty good nuclear re-entry vehicle, I would believe ... that that state simply cannot have the ability to reach the homeland," Kelly said.

"Right now we think the threat is manageable but over time if it grows beyond where it is today, well, let's hope that diplomacy works," said Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

See Also:

• US-backed forces have ISIS cornered in Raqqa as they prepare for final showdown

• The US is starting to transform the Afghan air force

• Rapper Nelly arrested on sexual assault allegation