The US Secretary of Defence was reacting to the test of a hydrogen bomb by North Korea on Sunday morning.
Any threat posed to the United States or its allies by North Korea will be met with a “massive military response,” promised US Secretary of Defence James Mattis in the wake of the latest nuclear test by the communist state over the weekend.
Mattis’ comments came in the wake of North Korea carrying out a successful test on a hydrogen bomb in the early hours of Sunday morning, causing an explosion which Japanese meteorological experts said was five times stronger than that which destroyed Nagasaki during World War II.
The U.S. geological survey recorded an earthquake which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale near a weapons testing site in North Korea.
North Korean state media said that the test on a bomb that could be loaded on to a long-range missile (and thereby capable of reaching the United States) had been carried out with “perfect success”.
It is the latest in a series of missile tests from North Korea that have defied UN sanctions, been condemned internationally and prompted the possibility of a military response from the likes of the United States and Japan.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House following a national security briefing with President Donald Trump on Sunday, US Secretary of Defence James 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."
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While Mattis reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to “denuclearisation” in North Korea, he warned that the state risked “total annihilation” if their continued nuclear activity were to pose a threat to the United States or its allies.
“All members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses and they remain unanimous in their commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” Mattis said.
“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,” he added.
