“…an armed conflict with North Korea would be catastrophic to US allies in the region… would be probably the worst kind of fighting…”
Defense Secretary James Mattis appeared on “Face the Nation” with John Dickerson on Sunday and repeated his warning that an armed conflict with North Korea would be “catastrophic” for US allies in the region, and that it “would be probably the worst kind of fighting” because of the North’s proximity to the South Korean capital, Seoul.
“A conflict in North Korea, John, would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people’s lifetimes. Why do I say this? The North Korean regime has hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers within range of one of the most densely populated cities on earth, which is the capital of South Korea.”
Mattis told a Pentagon news conference earlier this month that a war with the north would be “tragic on an unbelievable scale, ” suggesting that the Trump administration would seek to exhaust all alternatives before resorting to military action.
“We are working with the international community to deal with this issue. This regime is a threat to the region, to Japan, to South Korea. And in the event of war, they would bring danger to China and to Russia as well.
