Mattis warns of ‘massive military response’ if North Korea threatens attack

The remarks follow a series of presidential tweets.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis (left) speaks to the press with General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the situation in North Korea at the White House in Washington, D.C., on September 3, 2017 | Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary James Mattis on Sunday warned of a “massive military response” if North Korea threatens an attack against the United States, after the rogue nation said it completed the test of a hydrogen bomb.

“We have many military options, and the president wanted to be briefed on each one of them,” Mattis told reporters outside the White House. “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 promised an “ironclad” American commitment to its regional allies.

The escalation in rhetoric comes after President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday morning that North Korea is “very hostile and dangerous” and called on South Korea to end its “talk of appeasement.”

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