1:34
- ABC News
- August 11, 2017
Mattis: War with N. Korea would be 'catastrophic'
The remarks follow the rogue nation's threat to attack Guam.
And Mattis said earlier in a statement, \"While our State Department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive...capabilities on Earth,” Mattis said in a statement.
Mattis’ comments come on the heels of North Korea’s state media announcement Thursday that its military would devise a plan by mid-August to fire four intermediate range missiles at the U.S. territory of Guam as a “crucial warning to the U.S.”
Trump has notched up his criticism of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying he has “gotten away with [horrific] things for a long time between him and his family” and that he wouldn't let Jong-un “get away it” now. Trump added that “maybe the statement wasn’t tough enough” and that North Korea can expect a reaction “of the likes of which nobody has seen before” if Jong-un strikes Guam.
ABC News' Elizabeth McLaughlin contributed to this report
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