DEFENSE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “The Trump administration said it would give diplomacy more time to resolve a gathering crisis over North Korea’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon that can reach U.S. shores.
On Thursday [7-6-17], Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. wasn’t closer to war, in his first remarks since North Korea launched this week what American officials concluded was the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile.
‘The president has been very clear and the secretary of state has been very clear that we are leading with diplomatic and economic efforts,’ Mr. Mattis said during an impromptu press briefing at the Pentagon. He said the military ‘remains ready’ based on its treaties with U.S. allies in Japan and South Korea.
His remarks came after President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was considering ‘some pretty severe things’ in response to North Korea’s latest efforts. At a joint news conference in Warsaw with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, Mr. Trump said that North Korean leaders were ‘behaving in a very, very dangerous manner and something will have to be done about it.’ “
-Gordon Lubold and Peter Nicholas, “U.S. to Give Diplomacy More Time to Resolve North Korea Threat,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 6, 2017 6:16pm