US Secretary of Defense James Mattis says says a temporary warming of relations between North Korea and South Korea could not drive a “wedge” between the United States and South Korea.
“I know that people are watching for a wedge between South Korea, Republic of Korea, in other words and the United States,” Mattis told reporters on a flight to Rome.
“There’s no wedge there, the military staffs are integrated. If you move up to the political level, Admiral Song, minister of defense Song, flew into Hawaii when I was out in the Pacific, that’s so he and I could sit down face to face and consult.”
Mattis made the comments shortly after a high-level North Korean delegation headed home following a historic visit to the South on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
The delegation included senior officials from Pyongyang, including Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader. The South Korean president met with the North…