US vows ‘immediate and specific action’ to intercept missiles if North Korean fires at allies, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.
"We would take immediate, specific actions to take it down," Mattis said in response to a question asked during a press conference in Washington following an annual high-level meeting of the US’s and Japan’s foreign and defence ministers, the South Korean Yonhap News agency reported.
Mattis’ comments came as Washington and Pyongyang appeared to begin to de-escalate their military threats against each other. US President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for making a “very wise and well-reasoned” decision to back down from a plan to mount a missile strike near the US Pacific island territory of Guam, two days after Kim reportedly said he would take “a little more” time before giving any order.