Defense Secretary James Mattis joined President Donald Trump in issuing a stark warning to North Korea on Sunday afternoon, saying the reclusive nation would have to deal with a “massive military response” if it threatens the United States or its allies. “Any threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response,” Mattis said in a prepared statement outside of the White House as he was standing next to Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Mattis spoke to reporters after meeting with Trump, who wanted to be briefed on the “many military options” for action against Pyongyang following its latest nuclear test on Sunday. “We made clear that we have the ability to defend ourselves and our allies, South Korea and Japan, from any attacks, and our commitments among the allies are ironclad,” he said. Last month, Trump said that if the threats from North Korea continue, they will be met with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
Mattis also called on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to “take heed” of the way the U.N. Security Council has been unanimous in its opposition to his nuclear program and warned in no uncertain terms that the United States could destroy the reclusive nation. “We are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea, but as I said, we have many options to do so,” Mattis said. Using the secretary of defense as effectively a presidential spokesman “was, by itself, a reflection of the growing risk that the crisis could escalate to military action,” notes the Associated Press.
Earlier Trump had warned of possible economic sanctions against North Korea, saying the United States was considering stopping trade with any country that does business with North Korea. In that statement it was a bit closer to allies in Europe who have called for a tightening of sanctions against North Korea even as most outright dismissed the possibility of a military solution to the growing crisis.
One of the countries that is warning against military action is South Korea. “We have experienced an internecine war and can never tolerate another catastrophic war on this land,” President Moon Jae-in said in a statement. “We will not give up our goal of working together with allies to seek a peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the latest developments in North Korea.
