North Korea 'most urgent' threat to
security: Mattis
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[June 13, 2017]
By Idrees Ali and Mike Stone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that North Korea's advancing missile
and nuclear programs were the "most urgent" threat to national security
and that its means to deliver them had increased in speed and scope.
"The regime’s nuclear weapons program is a clear and present danger to
all, and the regime’s provocative actions, manifestly illegal under
international law, have not abated despite United Nations’ censure and
sanctions," Mattis said in a written statement to the House Armed
Services Committee.
"The most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security is North
Korea," the statement added. "North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear
weapons and the means to deliver them has increased in pace and scope."
Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council expanded targeted
sanctions against North Korea after its repeated missile tests, adopting
the first such resolution agreed by the United States and China since
President Donald Trump took office.
The U.S. focus on North Korea has been sharpened by dozens of North
Korean missile launches and two nuclear bomb tests since the beginning
of last year and by Pyongyang's vow to develop a nuclear-tipped
intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Mattis, speaking before the panel, warned of the potential losses in the
case of conflict with North Korea.
"It would be a war like nothing we have seen since 1953 and we would
have to deal with it with whatever level of force was necessary ... It
would be a very, very serious war," Mattis said.
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U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis arrives for a House Armed
Services Committee hearing on the Pentagon's budget priorities on
Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
The Korean War ended in 1953, three years after fighting began in a
conflict that would kill 140,000 South Koreans, 36,000 U.S. soldiers
and 1 million civilians.
South Korea's top national security adviser said last week that
Seoul did not aim to change its agreement on the deployment of a
U.S. anti-missile system to protect against North Korea, despite a
decision to delay its full installation.
Chung Eui-yong called the decision to delay installation of
remaining launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or
THAAD, system, pending a review of its environmental impact, a
domestic measure to ensure a democratic process.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Peter Cooney and Stephen
Coates)
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