Mattis tells Army to "be ready" on North Korea military options

WASHINGTON - 9 October 2017: US Defense Secretary James Mattis says the US Army "must stand ready" in the face of continued provocations by the North Korean regime, CBS News reported.

While delivering the keynote address at the Association of the US Army's annual meeting on Monday, Mattis outlined the current strategy in North Korea for the US military, saying "it is right now diplomatically led, economic sanctioned, buttressed effort to try to turn North Korea off its path."

He conceded, however, that "neither you nor I can say" what the future holds for the regime.

"There's one thing the US Army can do, and that is you have got to be ready to ensure that we have military options that our president can employ if needed," said Mattis.

Mattis embraced the current diplomatic approach to the crisis, including the UN-led sanctions on the regime supported by the international community.