Mattis said his mission and responsibility is to prepare the necessary military responses, but he stressed that the US will continue to focus on diplomatic efforts, which have already shown positive results.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis (Source: AFP/VNA)

His statement followed President Trump’s warning that the US will take extreme military measures if North Korea continues to threaten the US.

The European Union on Thursday added 9 individuals and 4 entities to the North Korea sanctions list to punish North Korea for its transcontinental ballistic missile test launches. The list includes the Foreign Trade Bank (FTB).