United States Defense Secretary James Mattis has laid out plainly US military options against North Korea's threats in a short statement outside the White House on Sunday (3 August).

Mattis said threats to the US, its territories or its allies "will be met with a massive military response", adding that it would be "a response both effective and overwhelming".

Mattis also named Guam when mentioning the US overseas territories - a Pacific island that North Korea has previously threatened with attacks.

The strong words from the defence secretary came after North Korea said they had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted to an intercontinental ballistic missile.

If true, it could mean that the country now has capabilities to launch a nuclear warhead at the continental United States.

Mattis said that the US does not seek the "total annihilation" of North Korea but that "we have many options to do so".

US President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said earlier on Sunday that the country was looking into new sanctions that would mean countries doing business with North Korea could no longer do any business with the United States.

"The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea," Trump tweeted on Sunday.

In an earlier tweet, he branded North Korea "a rogue nation".

"North Korea has conducted a major nuclear test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States...North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success," the president tweeted.

The nuclear test is the latest provocation from North Korea and an escalation from a number of missile tests that it had undertaken in the last few months. It is the country's sixth nuclear test.</s>US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today condemned for its "provocative and destabilising" behaviour, after the reclusive nation carried out its biggest nuclear test.

 

 claimed yesterday it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb meant to be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile. It was Pyongyang's sixth, and the most powerful nuclear test, which was set to raise tension in the region.



The said that the two leaders spoke over phone to discuss the North Korean actions as they pledged to continue "close cooperation"."The two leaders condemned North Korea's continued destabilising and provocative actions, confirmed the two countries' ironclad mutual defence commitments, and pledged to continue close cooperation," the said in a readout of the call.During the call, Trump reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to defending its homeland, territories, and allies using the full range of diplomatic, conventional, and nuclear capabilities at its disposal.Earlier in the day, US Defence Secretary James Mattis warned of "massive military response" to any threats from"We made clear that we have the ability to defend ourselves and our allies, and Japan, from any attack. And our commitment among the allies is ironclad: 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," Mattis told reporters at theHe made a brief statement to reporters outside the West Wing of the after Trump held a meeting with a small group of his national security team."We have many military options. The president wanted to be briefed on each one of them," he said."Kim Jong Un should take heed of the United Nations Security Council's unified voice -- all members unanimously agreed on the threat 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.Senator Marco Rubio said North Korea's threatening actions today are a sober reminder that all nations, including China, must do everything in their power to stop and reverse Pyongyang's growing nuclear and missile programs."We cannot live in a world held hostage by Kim Jong Un's nuclear blackmail, and I support US-led efforts to maximise pressure against the North Korean regime and its foreign enablers," Rubio said.</s>Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, right, speaks to members of the media outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis responded to North Korea's latest nuclear test by saying threats to the United States and its allies "will be met with a massive military response."

Mattis spoke at the White House on Sunday following a meeting with President Donald Trump and national security advisers. He said any response will be "both effective and overwhelming."

Mattis said the United States is "not looking to the total annihilation" of North Korea, but added "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.</s>Tensions with North Korea continue to escalate, with the latest show of nuclear force allegedly the largest yet. President Trump responded with a chastisement of South Korea and hinting that the United States may cease all trade with countries that also deal with North Korea. He also promised to meet with his military advisors over a course of action, which lead to Secretary of Defense General James Mattis making a statement on the situation on Sunday afternoon.

Mattis briefed the press regarding his meeting with President Trump, saying that they were exploring “many military options” should North Korea continue with its nuclear threat.

“Our commitment among the allies are ironclad. 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.”

Mattis continued to address the aggression displayed by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, saying that he should “take heed” of the UN’s Security Council’s unanimous position against North Korea’s nuclear program. According to Mattis, the United States is “not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea, but as I said, we have many options to do so.”</s>U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis delivered a pithy response on Sunday to North Korea’s nuclear test earlier that day. This was the core of the statement: “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.”

Global markets barely moved upon opening on Monday, which was consistent with the broader treatment of these words as just more of the same from Washington. But that is to misinterpret Mattis, whose words represent a significant escalation in U.S. policy: The probability of a U.S. strike on North Korea has clearly risen.

Compare Mattis’ statement with the key part of Donald Trump’s remarks on August 8, in which the president said, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

First, context. On August 8, Trump spoke off the cuff from a golf club during a discussion on opioids, which left ambiguous how far his words represented the administration’s position. Mattis spoke outside the White House, flanked by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, in a scripted statement, in which each word had clearly been carefully chosen.

Second, speaker. We have become accustomed to Trump’s remarks being contradicted by members of his administration, or by his own subsequent statements. But not so with Mattis, who is one of the most highly respected military officers of his generation. When Mattis speaks, you listen to each word. And the two key words in Mattis’ statement were “will be”: Not “might be”, but will be. That tells us that if North Korea makes a threat that meets the administration’s definition, the next step is a U.S. strike, rather than more diplomacy.

Third, scope. Trump said on August 8 that threats “to the United States” would trigger a U.S. military response. Since then, North Korea has threatened Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory, and flown a missile over Japan, but has been careful not to cross Trump’s line by threatening the U.S. mainland directly. Mattis’ statement makes clear that now any threat to Guam or U.S. allies like South Korea or Japan will trigger a U.S. strike. So the bar for what will trigger a U.S. strike has been lowered.

Fourth, detail. Trump’s “fire and fury like the world has never seen” can be interpreted in many ways, if indeed it is even understood as a statement of policy, not just rhetoric. Conversely, from Mattis’ precise statement, we can now deduct the outline of what a U.S. strike would look like.

Thus, Mattis asserted that “we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely, North Korea”. Translation: a U.S. strike would target North Korean nuclear and military assets, rather than destroy the whole country, and is unlikely to involve any U.S. invasion; but such a U.S. strike would nonetheless be massive and sudden, and without further warning, if North Korea were to make the threat in question.

Furthermore, Mattis ended his statement by clearly noting the U.S. preference for a diplomatic solution: “Kim Jong Un should take heed the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice. All members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses. And they remain unanimous in their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”

In sum, it seems clear that Mattis wants a peaceful solution as a primary objective, but is ready to strike North Korean nuclear and military installations if Pyongyang makes any further threat to the U.S. or its allies.

However, Mattis was careful to leave a safety valve in the language he used. His statement leaves the Trump administration room to maneuver in the definition of the term “any threat”. Thus, such language could be interpreted by the administration to either include or exclude merely verbal threats, or indeed, any other type.

But Mattis’ use of the term “any threat” may have been designed to anticipate a justification to use force in self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which is understood to require an imminent threat of “armed attack” against which action can then be taken in self-defense, if that attack has not yet begun. Note that action taken under Article 51 does not require prior U.N. Security Council approval.

Furthermore, we should recognize that while Mattis’ words give us the most precise account of the Trump administration’s position on North Korea to date, there may well remain substantial differences within the administration. The UN Security Council meets Monday, and it is possible that U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can craft an alternative diplomatic path.

Kim Jong Un’s demurral from threatening the United States mainland after Trump’s August 8 remarks may indicate that he takes Washington’s rhetoric seriously, and that he acts relatively rationally. But now Mattis has extended the precision of the U.S. position to include North Korean threats to U.S. allies, and used the words “will be” in a formal context, Kim Jong Un has been pushed into a tighter corner.

So let’s be clear: Yesterday was not more of the same. The probability of a U.S. strike on North Korea has gone up in the last 48 hours. The ball is in Kim Jong Un’s court, and he has a history of taking wild swings. If he says the wrong thing now, the next step could well be violent. If that happens, don’t say Mattis didn’t warn you.</s>U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis threatened military action against North Korea Sunday during a short press briefing at the White House.

Standing beside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Josep Dunford, Mattis stated that any threat to the U.S., its territories or its allies would be met with “a massive military response.”

“Any threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies, will be met with a massive military response,” Mattis said. “A response both effective and overwhelming.”

The stern warning came after a national security meeting in which President Donald Trump was briefed on all U.S. military options following North Korea’s test of a suspected thermonuclear weapon on Sunday.

“We have many military options and the president wanted to be briefed on each one of them,” Mattis said. “We made clear that we have the ability to defend ourselves and our allies South Korea and Japan from any attack and our commitments among the allies are ironclad.”

Mattis stressed that the U.S. is “not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea” but said there were “many options to do so.”

“North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test,” Trump said on Twitter. “Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States.”

Hours before Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear weapons test, which produced a magnitude 6.3 earthquake according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was pictured next to the alleged “H-bomb” – designed for the country’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

“The institute recently succeeded in making a more developed nuke, true to the strategic intention of the WPK for bringing about a signal turn in nuclear weaponization,” a statement from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. “He watched an H-bomb to be loaded into new ICBM.”

“The H-bomb, the explosive power of which is adjustable from tens kiloton to hundreds kiloton, is a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP attack according to strategic goals.”

Experts say the seismic activity produced by the nuclear test, North Korea’s most powerful to date, is consistent with that of a thermonuclear explosion.</s>WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis warned North Korea in stark terms on Sunday that any attack on the U.S. or its allies would be met with a massive military response, in comments that came after a national-security briefing with President Donald Trump called in response to Pyongyang’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

“We have many military options and the president wanted to be briefed on each one of them,” said Mattis in brief comments Sunday afternoon, accompanied by Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mattis warned that any attacks on the U.S., Japan or South Korea “will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.”

Mattis urged the regime to heed calls from the U.S. and other members of the United Nations Security Council to step back its nuclear escalation, “because we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea, but as I said, we have many options to do so.”

Earlier, President Trump denounced North Korea as a hostile “rogue nation,” while also lashing out at China and South Korea, which he says have done too little to restrain the Pyongyang regime. The Trump administration also said it was drawing up new steps to further cut off North Korea’s economy in the wake of the latest nuclear escalation, which is shaping up as the most consequential national-security challenge of Trump’s young presidency.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

Local meteorologist emerges as unlikely hero of Harvey.</s>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.”

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

 Earlier, President Donald Trump raised the stakes in the escalating crisis over North Korea’s nuclear threats, suggesting drastic economic measures against China and criticizing ally South Korea.

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 he had attended a “small group” national security meeting with Trump and others. He 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.

“We made clear that we have the ability to defend ourselves and our allies, South Korea and Japan, from any attacks, and our commitments among the allies are ironclad,” he said. The use of Mattis as the president’s spokesman in this circumstance was, by itself, a reflection of the growing risk that the crisis could escalate to military action.

“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, reading from a piece of paper. “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.

Trump said he was meeting at the White House with chief of staff John Kelly, Mattis “and other military leaders.” Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended, according to his spokesman.

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, and Trump’s treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said he was putting together proposed new sanctions for Trump to consider that would seek to cut off trade with North Korea.

It’s unclear what kind of penalties 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.

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The United Nations Security Council was set to meet later on Monday to discuss fresh sanctions against the isolated regime and U.S. President Donald Trump had asked to be briefed on all available military options, according to his defense chief.

South Korea’s air force and army conducted drills involving long-range air-to-surface missiles and ballistic missiles, the joint chiefs of staff said in a statement. Monday’s drill was carried out only by the South Korean military, but more were being prepared with U.S. forces in the country, it said.

North Korea said on Sunday it had tested an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, prompting the threat of a “massive” military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened.

“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,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said outside the White House after meeting Trump and his national security team.

“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.”</s>WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis vowed “a massive military response” to any threat from North Korea against the United States or its allies in a statement outside the White House after a meeting with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and top national security advisers Sunday.

Mattis said Trump wanted to be briefed on each of the “many military options” for dealing with the North Korean nuclear threat.

“Our commitment among the allies are ironclad,” 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.”

Mattis called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to “take heed” of the UN Security Council’s unanimous position against North Korea’s nuclear program and again stressed the US military’s position.

“We are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea, but as I said, we have many options to do so,” Mattis said.

President Donald Trump warned Sunday that the United States was considering stopping trade with any nation doing business with North Korea as a way of dealing with the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

If carried out, that option could mean a halt to US trade with China, which has supported economic sanctions on North Korea but remains the key economic partner for the rogue nation.

Total trade between the US and China topped nearly $650 billion last year, including exports of about $170 billion and imports of about $480 billion, the vast majority in goods, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. That makes China the United States’ largest trading partner in goods.

Trump condemned North Korea’s claimed test of a hydrogen bomb in a series of tweets Sunday morning, calling Pyongyang’s words and actions “hostile and dangerous” and saying “talk of appeasement will not work.”

“North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States,” Trump wrote, adding that Pyongyang “has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.”

“South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!” the President wrote.

Later Sunday morning, Trump again teased the possibility that the US would attack North Korea.

As he left church, Trump was asked, “Will you attack North Korea?”

Trump tweeted midday Sunday that he would meet with administration officials at the White House on North Korea. He said the meeting would include White House chief of staff John Kelly, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and “other military leaders at the White House.”

A National Security Council official told CNN that national security adviser H.R. McMaster also would attend the meeting, and Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was seen entering the White House.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert tweeted Sunday morning that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was also scheduled to attend the White House’s North Korea meeting, was making calls to his counterparts, including South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley joined her counterparts from Japan, France, the United Kingdom and South Korea in requesting an emergency UN Security Council meeting on North Korea Monday at 10 a.m. ET.

The request came after UN Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the test, calling it “profoundly destabilizing for regional security.”

This is North Korea’s sixth-ever test of a nuclear weapon and the first since Trump took office.

The test was a “perfect success” and the final step in attaining a “state nuclear force,” North Korean news anchor Ri Chun Hee said in a televised announcement Sunday.

The news report claimed the weapon was designed to fit atop an intercontinental ballistic missile. The nuclear test follows two successful tests of the long-range missile in July and a shorter-range one in late August.

In a high-level national security meeting, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called the move a “an absurd strategic mistake” that will lead to the international community further isolating Pyongyang.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement released by his office Sunday that North Korea’s nuclear and missile development “has entered a new level of threat — more grave and imminent — against Japan’s national security and seriously undermines the peace and security of the region as well as the international community.”

The statement adds “given the fact that North Korea has belligerently conducted ballistic missile launches repeatedly this year, the UN Security Council has strongly condemned these actions. Under such circumstances, this nuclear test, which North Korea conducted today despite these calls, is totally unacceptable.”

China, North Korea’s only real ally and patron, said its neighbor “disregarded universal opposition of the international community” by conducting the test.”

“We strongly urge North Korea side to face up to the firm will of the international community on the denuclearization of the peninsula, abide by relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, stop taking wrong actions that exacerbate the situation and are not in its own interest, and return to the track of resolving the issue through dialogue,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that he would like a “measured” response from the Oval Office.

“Obviously, you’d like a leader that is measured and sober and consistent,” Flake said, adding, “We’ve got a good team around the President.”

Flake echoed the administration’s previous statements on the North Korean nuclear threat, saying all options needed to be on the table — including military ones — and said there is no clear path forward to resolving Pyongyang’s continued nuclear development.

“It becomes cliche to say there are no good options here, but there really aren’t,” Flake said.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee released a statement saying that he had spoken with President Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly and made clear his support for “a comprehensive strategy that not only places an emphasis on deterrence but also empowers our allies and partners in the region, who must do far more to confront this threat.”

Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro said on ABC’s “This Week” that he does not think Trump’s threat last month to rain “fire and fury” down upon North Korea has helped the situation.

“I don’t think that it’s been helpful,” Castro said. “I don’t think that it’s helpful to get in to a Twitter shouting match with a 32-year-old dictator, Kim Jong-un, in North Korea. I think, unfortunately, that it’s escalated the tension and the situation. And he needs to let his diplomats and his military generals and others handle this situation.”

During a meeting at his golf club in New Jersey last month, Trump said in response to the North Korean leader’s threats against the United States that Pyongyang would “be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

Experts say it is nearly impossible to verify with certainty North Korea’s claim that it detonated a hydrogen bomb, which is also known as a thermonuclear weapon, or whether it can actually be used successfully on a missile. Thermonuclear weapons typically use a fission explosion to create a fusion reaction, which is far more powerful than a fission reaction.

NORSAR, an independent seismic monitor, estimated the blast created a yield of about 120 kilotons. The tremors caused by North Korea’s Sunday test were at least 10 times more powerful than the fifth test, Japanese officials said. An official at the Korea Meteorological Administration estimated the blast was about 50 kilotons.

The test came just hours after North Korea released images of Kim inspecting what it said was a hydrogen bomb ready to be put on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the type of weapon the country would need to use to deliver a nuclear warhead to far-away locations.

Sunday’s test comes almost one year after Pyongyang’s fifth nuclear test last September, which triggered a 5.3-magnitude seismological event. That took place on September 9, the country’s Foundation Day holiday. North Korea claimed it set off a thermonuclear weapon during that test, but experts said the data showed it was more likely a boosted fission weapon.
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis says in a statement “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".