Mattis Says 'Effective and Overwhelming' Response Will Follow Any Use of Nuclear Weapons by North Korea

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday, October 28, reiterated US support for South Korea and resistance to North Korea’s efforts to develop its nuclear capability.“The United States does not accept a nuclear North Korea,” Mattis said, speaking alongside South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo in Seoul. He said “any use of nuclear weapons” by North Korea would be met with an “effective and overwhelming” military response, but didn’t define what would constitute such use. North Korea has carried out a number of nuclear tests at a facility in the country’s northeast, the most recent taking place in September 2017.During a visit to the Korean demilitarized zone on October 27, Mattis said the US was persuing all diplomatic means to prevent conflict on the peninsula. Credit: US Department of Defense via Storyful