Defense Secretary on North Korea Threat: U.S Will Answer with a ‘Massive Military Response’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday shot back at North Korea’s latest nuclear provocation with a blunt threat, saying the U.S. will answer any North Korean threat with a “massive military response — a response both effective and overwhelming.” While he said America does not seek the “total annihilation” of the North, he added somberly, “We have many options to do so.”

A day that began with President Donald Trump calling North Korea an embarrassment to China and criticizing South Korea for its “talk of appeasement” ended with his Pentagon chief delivering strong words of warning.

The president’s treasury chief, Steven Mnuchin, said he would propose new sanctions for Trump to consider that would seek to cut off trade with North Korea. Trump went further, writing on Twitter that his administration was considering halting “all trade” with any country that does business with North Korea.

The administration has emphasized its pursuit of diplomatic solutions, knowing the potentially horrific costs of war with the North. But the decision to have Mattis deliver a public statement seemed to suggest an escalating crisis.

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 that the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, should know that Washington’s commitment to Japan and South Korea is unshakeable.

With Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at his side, Mattis said, “Any 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.” 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 “total annihilation.”

Mattis, who did not take questions from reporters, said the president wanted to be briefed on each of what Mattis called “many military options” 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’s weaponry and eliminating its leadership.

“Kim Jong Un should take heed of the United Nations Security Council’s 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,” Mattis said. “But, as I said, we have many options to do so.”

North Korea claimed “perfect success” in an underground test of what it called a hydrogen bomb — potentially vastly more destructive than an atomic bomb. It was the North’s sixth nuclear test since 2006, but the first since Trump took office in January.

Trump, asked by a reporter during a trip to church services if he would attack the North, said: “We’ll see.”

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’s test and emphasized strengthening U.S. missile defenses. Leaders in Russia, China and Europe issued condemnations.

The precise strength of the underground nuclear explosion had yet to be determined. South Korea’s weather agency said the artificial earthquake caused by the explosion was five times to six times stronger than tremors generated by the North’s previous five tests.

North Korea’s state-run television broadcast a special bulletin to announce the test, and said Kim attended a meeting of the ruling party’s presidium and signed the go-ahead order. Earlier, the party’s newspaper published photos of Kim examining what it said was a nuclear warhead being fitted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Sunday’s 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.

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.

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.

Beyond the science of the blast, North Korea’s 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.

That is why some questioned Trump’s jab Sunday at South Korea. He tweeted that Seoul is finding that its “talk of appeasement” will not work. The North Koreans, he added, “only understand one thing,” 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.

Patrick Cronin, an Asia expert with the Center for a New American Security, said Trump’s comment on South Korea was probably “intended to stiffen the spine of an ally.” He said he agreed with the intention.

“I think Washington is very serious about showing some unexpected resolve,” he said. “We need our ally and we need to remain ironclad. But at the same time, we can’t afford South Korea to go weak in facing down this growing danger.”

Trump also suggested putting more pressure on China, the North’s 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 “stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.” Such a halt would be radical. The U.S. imports about $40 billion in goods a month from China, North Korea’s main commercial partner.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was calling counterparts in Asia.

It’s unclear what kind of sanctions might make a difference. Lassina Zerbo, head of the U.N. test ban treaty organization, said sanctions already imposed against North Korea aren’t working.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, meeting on the sidelines of a Beijing-led economic summit, agreed “to adhere to the goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, have close communication and coordination and properly respond” to the test.

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’s White House.

“Denuclearization is not a viable U.S. policy goal,” 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. “We should keep denuclearization as a long-term aspiration, but recognize privately that it’s unachievable anytime soon.”

Trump warned last month that the U.S. military was “locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely” and that the U.S. would unleash “fire and fury” 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 “enveloping fire” near the military hub that’s home to U.S. bombers and other aircraft.