N. KOREA SANCTIONS

for East Asia, said while Mattis’s focus would have to be on North Korea, which was perhaps Trump’s most pressing security worry, it was important for him to lay out a broader policy to ease worries.

“The region will pay very close attention... and the goal for Secretary Mattis should be to clearly enunciate the policy of the United States towards the Asia-Pacific,” he said.

US focus on North Korea has been sharpened by dozens of North Korean missile launches — the most recent of which was on Monday — and two nuclear bomb tests since the beginning of last year, with Pyongyang’s vow to develop a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the US mainland.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in Singapore, Mattis would likely stress the threat posed by North Korea and the importance of Asia-Pacific countries working together to counter its weapons programmes as the US negotiates with China and others to toughen sanctions on Pyongyang.

While Mattis’s speech was still being worked on and could change, concerns about North Korea, one official said, would inevitably mean less emphasis on China’s fortifying of artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The building of islands is seen as a move by China to solidify its contested claims in the sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

US officials and diplomats said China still appeared reluctant to agree to tougher sanctions unless North Korea escalated tensions further by conducting another nuclear test or a launch directly related to its ICBM programme.

US officials insisted that the administration remain committed more broadly to the region.

They note that Mattis’s first international trip was to the region, visiting Seoul and Tokyo.

US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also travelled to Asia and the latter hosted counterparts from Asean this month.

Trump himself is due to attend regional summits in Vietnam and the Philippines in November. Reuters