Want diplomatic solution to standoff with North Korea: US
September 26, 2017  23:20
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Defence Secretary James Mattis said today that the United States wants a diplomatic resolution to his country's standoff with North Korea, in an apparent effort to cool frayed tempers amid an escalating war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.
"We maintain the capability to deter North Korea's most dangerous threats, but we also will back up our diplomats in a manner to keep this as long as possible in the diplomatic realm," Mattis said, responding to a question at the joint press briefing with India's Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"Our goal is to solve this diplomatically. President (Donald) Trump is very clear about this issue," he added.
The last few days have seen what many perceive as a pre-war rhetoric between Kim Jong Un, the leader of the reclusive nation, and Trump, after Pyongyang tested a hydrogen bomb and test-fired ballistic missiles over Japan.
Yesterday, North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters at the United Nations that the Trump administration has declared war against North Korea and it has "every right" under the UN Charter to take countermeasures, "including the right to shoot down the United States' strategic bombers even if they are not yet inside the airspace border of our country".
His statement further spiked the tensions between the two countries.
Mattis said the United States continued to put pressure on the North's leadership through diplomatic channels.
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