As Trump initiates hostile trade inquiry against China
US defence secretary threatens war with North Korea
By
Peter Symonds
15 August 2017
US Defence Secretary James Mattis warned North Korea yesterday that any attempt to fire missiles towards the American territory of Guam or the United States itself would be “game on”—in other words, war between the two countries.
His threat came as US President Trump signed an executive order initiating an investigation that could result in trade war measures against China. Trump officials have been increasingly critical of Beijing for failing to use crippling economic sanctions to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.
Mattis’s remarks followed bellicose threats by President Trump last week to engulf North Korea in “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued to threaten the US. On Friday, Trump warned that the military option was now “locked and loaded should North Korea act unwisely.”
The Pyongyang regime responded by announcing that its military was drawing up plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles to plunge into the sea near Guam, home to US military bases that would be used in any war with North Korea. The state-owned media KCNA reported yesterday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had reviewed the plans and discussed the possibility of carrying out the “fire of power demonstration.”
Mattis warned that if North Korea shot at the United States, he would assume that its missiles would hit the US and “if they do that, then it’s game on.” He underscored the warning by declaring: “You don’t shoot at people in this world unless you want to bear the consequences.”
Mattis also made clear that the US would pre-emptively destroy any North Korean missiles…