U.S. national security adviser says potential for war with DPRK "increasing"

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said on Saturday that the potential for war with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is "increasing every day" after Pyongyang's latest missile launch.

"I think it's increasing every day, which means that we are in a race, really, we are in a race to be able to solve this problem," said the senior security official addressing an audience at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California.

McMaster's remarks came days after a successful test-fire of a newly developed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) by the DPRK, which has drawn strong condemnation from countries and international organizations.

The DPRK represents "the greatest immediate threat to the United States," said McMaster, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The national security adviser also noted that there are non-military ways to deal with the issue.

The latest launch by the DPRK came a week after the United States redesignated the DPRK as a "state sponsor of terrorism" and slapped a new round of sanctions against the Asian country. Enditem