Mattis calls out North Korea during DMZ visit

By Tony Bertuca / October 27, 2017 at 11:39 AM

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, standing a stone's throw from the North Korean border today, castigated the regime of Kim Jong Un for "reckless, outlaw behavior."

Mattis, who made the remarks during a trip to the demilitarized zone that has long separated the northern half of the Korean Peninsula from the south, said his visit was meant to reaffirm the United States' "ironclad commitment" to South Korea.

"This visit today to this demilitarized zone portrays in very strong terms the difference we see between two nations," he said, according to an Oct. 27 Pentagon transcript.

"To the south lies a vibrant country, a vibrant economy, a free country, and it's underpinned by peace-loving members of a free society," he continued. "Behind me to the north, an oppressive regime that shackles its people, denying their freedom, their welfare and their human dignity in pursuit of nuclear weapons in the means of delivery, in order to threaten others with catastrophe."

Still, Mattis said the United States seeks a peaceful, diplomatic solution to tensions with North Korea, which stem from that nation's increased testing of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

"Our goal is not war, but rather the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.

Mattis will meet Oct. 28 with top South Korean officials at a "Security Consultative Meeting," where they will discuss ways to further strengthen their alliance.

"This is an alliance of more than 60 years, and one that we both know is built on trust," Mattis said. "It is an alliance designed to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the strongest military defense of our shared democratic values."

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