BEIJING (AP) — The top U.S. military officer says a military solution to the North Korean missile threat would be "horrific" but allowing Pyongyang to develop the capability to launch a nuclear attack on the United States is "unimaginable."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dunford testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Thomson Reuters BEIJING (AP) — The top U.S. military officer says a military solution to the North Korean missile threat would be "horrific" but allowing Pyongyang to develop the capability to launch a nuclear attack on the United States is "unimaginable."

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, told reporters Thursday while in Beijing that President Donald Trump directly has "told us to develop credible viable military options and that's exactly what we're doing."

Dunford was responding to questions about Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon's comments in an interview published Wednesday.

Bannon was quoted as saying there's no military solution to the threat posed by North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, despite the president's recent pledge to answer further aggression with "fire and fury."