WASHINGTON \u2014 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday shot back at North Korea\u2019s latest nuclear provocation with a blunt threat, saying the U.S. will answer any North Korean threat with a \u201cmassive military response — a response both effective and overwhelming.\u201d While he said America does not seek the \u201ctotal annihilation\u201d of the North, he added somberly, \u201cWe have many options to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief statement to reporters outside the White House, Mattis said the international community is unified in demanding the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and said the North\u2019s leader, Kim Jong Un, should know that Washington\u2019s commitment to Japan and South Korea is unshakeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, President Donald Trump raised the stakes in the escalating crisis over North Korea\u2019s nuclear threats, suggesting drastic economic measures against China and criticizing ally South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at his side, Mattis said, \u201cAny threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response — a response both effective and overwhelming.\u201d Those words alone were within the usual bounds of U.S. commentary on answering North Korean aggression. But he seemed to take it a step further with the reference to \u201ctotal annihilation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mattis, who did not take questions from reporters, said he had attended a \u201csmall group\u201d national security meeting with Trump and others. He said the president wanted to be briefed on each of what Mattis called \u201cmany military options\u201d for action against North Korea. He did not mention any specific options, but his comment suggested that they discussed everything from a show of force such as an overflight of the peninsula by U.S. bombers to the latest war plan for destroying the North\u2019s weaponry and eliminating its leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said. The use of Mattis as the president\u2019s spokesman in this circumstance was, by itself, a reflection of the growing risk that the crisis could escalate to military action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKim Jong Un should take heed of the United Nations Security Council\u2019s unified voice – all members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses, and 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,\u201d Mattis said, reading from a piece of paper. \u201cBut, as I said, we have many options to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea claimed \u201cperfect success\u201d in an underground test of what it called a hydrogen bomb \u2014 potentially vastly more destructive than an atomic bomb. It was the North\u2019s sixth nuclear test since 2006, but the first since Trump took office in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, asked by a reporter during a trip to church services if he would attack the North, said: \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No U.S. military action appeared imminent, and the immediate focus appeared to be on ratcheting up economic penalties, which have had little effect thus far. Members of Congress expressed alarm at the North\u2019s test and emphasized strengthening U.S. missile defenses. Leaders in Russia, China and Europe issued condemnations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump said he was meeting at the White House with chief of staff John Kelly, Mattis \u201cand other military leaders.\u201d Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended, according to his spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The precise strength of the underground nuclear explosion had yet to be determined. South Korea\u2019s weather agency said the artificial earthquake caused by the explosion was five times to six times stronger than tremors generated by the North\u2019s previous five tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea\u2019s state-run television broadcast a special bulletin to announce the test, and said Kim attended a meeting of the ruling party\u2019s presidium and signed the go-ahead order. Earlier, the party\u2019s newspaper published photos of Kim examining what it said was a nuclear warhead being fitted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday\u2019s detonation builds on recent North Korean advances that include test launches in July of two ICBMs that are believed to be capable of reaching the mainland U.S. The North says its missile development is part of a defensive effort to build a viable nuclear deterrent that can target U.S. cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Arms Control Association said the explosion appeared to produce a yield in excess of 100 kilotons of TNT equivalent, which it said strongly suggests the North tested a high-yield but compact nuclear weapon that could be launched on a missile of intermediate or intercontinental range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, said the North probably will need to do more tests before achieving a functioning hydrogen bomb design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the science of the blast, North Korea\u2019s accelerating push to field a nuclear weapon that can target all of the United States is creating political complications for the U.S. as it seeks to balance resolve with reassurance to allies that Washington will uphold its decadeslong commitment to deter nuclear attack on South Korea and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why some questioned Trump\u2019s jab Sunday at South Korea. He tweeted that Seoul is finding that its \u201ctalk of appeasement\u201d will not work. The North Koreans, he added, \u201conly understand one thing,\u201d implying military force might be required. The U.S. has about 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea and is obliged by treaty to defend it in the event of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patrick Cronin, an Asia expert with the Center for a New American Security, said Trump\u2019s comment on South Korea was probably \u201cintended to stiffen the spine of an ally.\u201d He said he agreed with the intention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think Washington is very serious about showing some unexpected resolve,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need our ally and we need to remain ironclad. But at the same time, we can\u2019t afford South Korea to go weak in facing down this growing danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also suggested putting more pressure on China, the North\u2019s patron for many decades and a vital U.S. trading partner, in hopes of persuading Beijing to exert more effective leverage on its neighbor. Trump tweeted that the U.S. is considering \u201cstopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.\u201d Such a halt would be radical. The U.S. imports about $40 billion in goods a month from China, North Korea\u2019s main commercial partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was calling counterparts in Asia, and Trump\u2019s treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said he was putting together proposed new sanctions for Trump to consider that would seek to cut off trade with North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s unclear what kind of penalties might make a difference. Lassina Zerbo, head of the U.N. test ban treaty organization, said sanctions already imposed against North Korea aren\u2019t working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China\u2019s official Xinhua News Agency said President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, meeting on the sidelines of a Beijing-led economic summit, agreed \u201cto adhere to the goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, have close communication and coordination and properly respond\u201d to the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts have questioned whether the North has gone too far down the nuclear road to continue pushing for a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, an Obama administration policy goal still embraced by Trump\u2019s White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDenuclearization is not a viable U.S. policy goal,\u201d said Richard Fontaine, president of the Center for a New American Security, but neither should the U.S. accept North Korea as a nuclear power. \u201cWe should keep denuclearization as a long-term aspiration, but recognize privately that it\u2019s unachievable anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump warned last month that the U.S. military was \u201clocked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely\u201d and that the U.S. would unleash \u201cfire and fury\u201d on the North if it continued to threaten America. The bellicose words followed threats from North Korea to launch ballistic missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, intending to create \u201cenveloping fire\u201d near the military hub that\u2019s home to U.S. bombers and other aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
__<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associated Press writers Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday shot back at North Korea\u2019s latest nuclear provocation with a blunt threat, saying the U.S. will answer any North Korean threat with a \u201cmassive military response — a response both effective and overwhelming.\u201d While he said America does not seek the \u201ctotal annihilation\u201d of the North, he added somberly, \u201cWe have many options to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":104992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6727],"class_list":["post-73640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YJNLRJORXJFKDL7WSARWVFATMI","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/09\/03\/mattis-north-korea-threat-would-bring-massive-military-response\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n