By Alexander Smith and Gabe Joselow, NBC News:
After years of North Korea thumbing its nose at the international community, on Friday Defense Secretary James Mattis appeared to signal enough was enough.
“Right now, [North Korea] appears to be going in a very reckless manner … and that has got to be stopped,” Mattis said at a press conference in London.
He didn’t give any details about how the administration of President Donald Trump plans to deal with the reclusive nation, which, under Kim Jong Un, has drastically increased its missile and nuclear-testing program.
But Mattis’ remarks continue a recent trend of Trump officials taking a harder line on North Korea.
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the “diplomatic … efforts of the past 20 years to bring North Korea to a point of de-nuclearization have failed.”
He also said that military action was “on the table.”
Many experts say that Trump’s options are limited, however.
Kim has pledged to develop weapons capable of striking the U.S. and its allies. Three of the country’s nuclear tests were completed under his rule and he conducted more missile tests over the past four years than in the rest of the country’s history.
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