Defense Secretary Jim Mattis highlighted the continuing diplomatic focus of the international community to turn back North Korea's outlawed missile and nuclear programs. | Andrew Harnik/AP Mattis urges military 'to be ready' with options on North Korea

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday urged military leaders "to be ready" with military options for President Donald Trump to deal with North Korea should diplomacy fail -- after Trump reprimanded his top brass last week for not providing him contingency plans quickly enough.

"Right now it is a diplomatically led, economic sanctions-buttressed effort to try to turn North Korea off this path,” Mattis said following a speech at the annual convention of the Association of the United States Army in Washington. “Now, what does the future hold? Neither you nor I can say, so there’s one thing the U.S. Army can do, and that is we have got to be ready to ensure that we have military options that our president can employ if needed.”


On Thursday, Trump told Mattis and his top generals in a White House meeting that he wanted military options at a “much faster pace.” The president subsequently suggested to reporters that “maybe it’s the calm before the storm," sparking widespread speculation that the cryptic reference was to Korea war plans.

Before Mattis' remarks Monday, Trump tweeted, “Our country has been unsuccessfully dealing with North Korea for 25 years, giving billions of dollars & getting nothing. Policy didn't work!”

However, Mattis, speaking to audience of soldiers of all ranks and defense industry executives, highlighted the continuing diplomatic focus of the international community to turn back North Korea's outlawed missile and nuclear programs.

Morning Defense newsletter Sign up for Morning Defense, a daily briefing on Washington's national security apparatus. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“How many times have you seen the UN Security Council vote unanimously, now twice if a row, to impose sanctions on North Korea?” he asked. “The international community has spoken, but that means the U.S. Army must stand ready.”

During his speech Monday Mattis also referred to a history of early U.S. Army failures during the Korean War in the 1950s, T.R. Fehrenbach’s “This Kind of War."

The book is a cult classic in some parts of officer corps - and a cautionary tale about military action on the Korean peninsula.

Fielding the question on how to avoid a new war in Korea, Mattis brought up the book again. “You know there’s a reason I recommended T.R. Fehrenbach’s book, that we all pull it out and read it one more time."