‘N Korea nuke pursuits a clear, present danger’

US defence secretary Jim Mattis turned up the heat on North Korea and its main benefactor China on Saturday, calling the North Koreans a “clear and present danger” and chastising the Chinese for coercive behaviour in the South China Sea.

Speaking at an international security conference in Singapore, Mattis said the Donald Trump administration is encouraged by China’s renewed commitment to working with the US and others to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. He also said he thinks China ultimately will see it as a liability rather than an asset.

China blocked tough new sanctions against North Korea that the United States pushed in the UN Security Council on Friday. However, the Security Council did vote unanimously to add 15 individuals and four entities linked to the North’s nuclear and missile programs to a UN sanctions blacklist.

Mattis sought to balance his hopeful comments on China with sharp criticism of what he called Beijing’s disregard for international law by its “indisputable militarisation” of artificial islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

“We oppose countries militarising artificial islands and enforcing excessive maritime claims unsupported by international law,” he said. “We cannot and will not accept unilateral, coercive changes to the status quo.”