The top commander of the United States Army says a choice will have to be made, in his words, "one way or the other" with North Korea, but he says none of the available options are good.

Local media quotes U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley as telling the U.S. National Press Club in Washington another war on the Korean Peninsula would be “terrible” in terms of lost human life and infrastructure.

Those comments echo a warning by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in May, who described a potential Korean conflict as "catastrophic."

Nonetheless, the progress of North Korea's missile and nuclear programs is creating a sense of urgency in Washington, where leaders view it as imperative to prevent the North from threatening the U.S. mainland.

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