Defense Dept . spokesman : U.S. has ` ` range of tools available '' to respond . U.S. in close consultation with South Korea , officials say . The U.S. Army is stretched thin in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , but Gates said there are other options in the case of armed conflict on the Korean peninsula . U.S. troops ` ` on their normal state of readiness , '' the committee chairman says . He says U.S. must help South Korea in case of war .
Defense Dept . spokesman : U.S. has ` ` range of tools available '' to respond . U.S. in close consultation with South Korea , officials say . U.S. troops ` ` on their normal state of readiness , '' the committee chairman says . He says U.S. must help South Korea in case of war .