Defense Secretary James Mattis on Sunday said that North Korea could face a “massive military response”, should Pyongyang threaten the U.S. or its allies, The Hill reports.
After a meeting with President Donald Trump, Mattis said that “any threat to the United States or its territories including Guam, or U.S. allies, will be met with a massive military response.”
“Kim Jong-un should take heed the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice. All members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses. And they remain unanimous in their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Because we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely, North Korea,” Mattis noted.
The defense secretary added the U.S. had “many military options” regarding the Korean peninsula. Mattis’s statement comes hours after North Korean state media announced the country had successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb capable of fitting on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The White House on Sunday said that Trump spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about North Korea’s test and that the two “pledged to continue close cooperation.”
“President Trump reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to defending our homeland, territories, and allies using the full range of diplomatic, conventional, and nuclear capabilities at our disposal,” the White House said.
The UN Security Council unanimously voted last month to impose sanctions on Pyongyang after the country launched a series of ICBMs, announcing that it would be having an emergency meeting to discuss the developments.
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