The United States warns North Korea of a “massive military response” to any threats.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis made the comments ina statement he read out among reporters outside of the White House on Sunday.
"Any threat to the United States or its territories including Guam or our allies will be met with a massive military response," Mattis said. "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."
US President Donald Trump has sought willingness to be briefed about the "many military options" available to face what the West considers North Korea’s nuclear threat.
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Earlier, Pyongyang announced the test of a hydrogen bomb, despite Trump’s warnings.
“The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea,” Trump had warned.
The president’s "fire and fury," policy, however, has so far failed to change the North Korean leader’s mind.
The Pentagon chief’s statement matches Trump's recent hawkish statements regarding North Korea.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened since Washington recently engineered tougher sanctions in the United Nations Security Council over the North’s testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles.