The North Korean regime has started to conduct mass evacuation and blackout drills.
The purpose of the drills has not been revealed by Korean state-run media. Experts think the communist regime is either fearing a war, or simply trying to create the perception that it is concerned over its populace.
“North Korea has accelerated the threat that it poses to its neighbors and the world through its illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear weapons programs,” said Mattis at the conference, via Reuters.
Mattis made the comments while in Seoul. He is currently on a trip in the Asian region.
“I cannot imagine a condition under which the Unites States would accept North Korea as a nuclear power,“ he added.
Mattis prefers a diplomatic solution, but stressed that the United States is willing and capable of protecting itself and its allies.
“Make no mistake—any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated. And any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response that is both effective and overwhelming,” said Mattis.
After constant threatening rhetoric and scores of nuclear and ballistic missile tests, North Korea’s recent moves could indicate that they are beginning to feel the heat. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that U.S. military help in the region has been effective in deterring aggression from the North Korean regime. Moon will meet President Donald Trump in November, as part of Trump’s 12-day Asia trip, according to Reuters.
“The president’s engagements will strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat and ensure the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
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