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Mattis to discuss N. Korea threat on Asia trip

October 23, 2017
US Defense Secretary James Mattis, seen in this file photo, is in the Philippines for security talks with Southeast Asian defense ministers and would discuss North Korea among other issues. — AP
US Defense Secretary James Mattis, seen in this file photo, is in the Philippines for security talks with Southeast Asian defense ministers and would discuss North Korea among other issues. — AP

CLARK, Philippines — US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Monday that curbing military threats from North Korea would be high on the agenda on his Asian tour this week, ahead of a visit by Donald Trump.

Tension has been high on the divided peninsula for months with Pyongyang staging its sixth nuclear test and launching two ICBMs that apparently brought much of the US mainland into range.

Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong-Un have meanwhile traded threats of war and personal insults. Mattis is in Philippines for security talks with Southeast Asian defense ministers, said he would discuss the "regional security crisis caused by reckless... North Korea" among other issues.

At the forum, Mattis is also expected to hold three-way talks with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan — key US allies in Asia — before visiting Seoul for annual defense talks.

"We will discuss... how we are going to maintain peace by keeping our militaries alert while our diplomats — Japanese, South Korean and US — work with all nations to denuclearize the Korean peninsula," Mattis told reporters on his aircraft.

He stressed the international community's goal was to denuclearize the flashpoint region, adding: "There is only one country with nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula."

Mattis met with his counterparts from ASEAN on Monday afternoon.

Mattis on Monday praised the Philippines for its successes in battling Daesh (so-called IS) supporters, as he began an Asian trip aimed at reaffirming American support for regional allies.

Mattis echoed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's statement last week that Filipino forces had "liberated" the southern city of Marawi, after five months of bitter urban fighting that had claimed more than 1,000 lives, even though battles have continued.

"One of the first things I'm going to do when I get there is commend the Philippine military for liberating Marawi from the terrorists," Mattis told reporters on the flight to the Philippines, according to an official transcript.

"It was a very tough fight as you know in southern Mindanao (the local region). And I think the Philippine military sends a very strong message to the terrorists."

Mattis' Asia trip, which will also take him to Thailand and South Korea, comes ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to Asia next month.

Some American allies in the region have become wary of Trump's interest in Asia. Mattis sought to reassure allies. "The US remains unambiguously committed to supporting ASEAN," Mattis said. — AFP


October 23, 2017
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