US Defense Secretary James Mattis says that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program poses a global threat and warned China over its continued “militarization” of the South China Sea.
“It is therefore imperative that we do our part each of us to support our shared goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula,” Mattis said Saturday at a security forum in Singapore.
The Pentagon chief called North Korea’s nuclear ambitions a “threat to us all,” urging the international community to work together on the issue.
On Monday, North Korea test-fired another missile, the latest in a series of launches and nuclear tests that have increased tensions in the region.
Mattis said Washington is encouraged by Beijing’s efforts to restrain Pyongyang, but said the US will not accept China’s militarization of islands in the South China Sea.
“We oppose countries militarizing artificial islands and enforcing excessive maritime claims,” he said. “We cannot and will not…