PANMUNJOM, South Korea - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis emphasized diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korean missile and nuclear crisis as he stood at the tense and heavily fortified border between North and South on Friday, saying: "Our goal is not war."
His remarks came before U.S. President Donald Trump - who has threatened to destroy the North if necessary - leaves on his first trip to Asia next week, including a stop in South Korea to meet President Moon Jae-in.
For his part, Moon, after talks with Mattis, said the "aggressive deployment" of U.S. strategic assets in the region, which have included overflights by U.S. bombers, had been effective in deterring the North Korean threat.
Tension between North Korea and the United States has been building after a series of nuclear and missile tests by Pyongyang and bellicose verbal exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stoking fears any miscalculation could lead to an armed confrontation.
"North Korean provocations continue to threaten regional and global security despite unanimous condemnation by the United Nations Security Council," Mattis said in prepared remarks as he visited the demilitarized zone (DMZ).
"As Secretary of State Tillerson has made clear, our goal is not war, but rather the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."
Standing alongside Mattis, South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo said: "We together will continue to defend peace through strong will and strong might." (Reuters)