Mattis ignores Trump tweet and says North Korea talks will go on

DONALD TRUMP was contradicted by his own Defence Secretary over North Korea yesterday as Kim Jong-un vowed his recent missile test was a “prelude” to an attack on the US territory of Guam.

In response to the rogue state’s test on Tuesday, Mr Trump tweeted: “The US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!”

But when asked about that comment, James Mattis, his Defence Secretary, replied: “No. We’re never out of diplomatic solutions.”

Mr Mattis made his remarks standing alongside Song Young-moo, the South Korean Defence Minister, at the Pentagon. His position echoed that of Rex Tillerson, Mr Trump’s Secretary of State, who said last week that the US would continue a campaign of “peaceful pressure” against Pyongyang.

The latest North Korean test involved an intermediate range ballistic missile flying 1,700 miles over Japan and into the sea, and escalated the growing international crisis over the hermit kingdom’s nuclear programme.

According to the North Korean state news agency, Kim Jong-un called it a “curtain raiser”, and added: “The current ballistic rocket launching drill, like a real war, is the first step of the military operation in the Pacific and a meaningful prelude to containing Guam.” He promised “more ballistic rocket launching drills with the Pacific as a target in the future”.

Japan pushed for fresh sanctions that could target North Koreans working abroad, the country’s oil supply, and textile exports. Koro Bessho, Japan’s UN Ambassador, said Tokyo would like a “strong resolution” and would “discuss it with the United States”.

Meanwhile, Theresa May arrived in Japan yesterday and was asked four times by journalists if she would rule out joining military action against the Kim regime. Each time, she refused to address the question directly.

She also refused to rule out cyber warfare. A Whitehall source even raised the possibility that it might already be under way, saying: “If we were doing that we certainly wouldn’t be telling you.”

Mrs May said: “China has a key role to play in this. We would encourage China to do everything it can to bring pressure to bear on North Korea.”

♦ Donald Trump is to appoint Victor Cha, an academic who favours putting China at the forefront of attempts to rein in North Korea, as US Ambassador to South Korea.