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U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Tuesday said that North Korea with its latest missile launch “can threaten everywhere in the world.”
Speaking from the Roosevelt Room in the White House alongside President Trump and Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, he said that the missile “went higher, frankly, than any other previous shot they’ve taken.”
Mattis added that North Korea’s ballistic missile program “endangers world peace, regional peace, and certainly the United States.”
“And we will take care of that situation,” Trump chimed in.
The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that the missile was in fact an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, and that it traveled approximately 1,000 km (about 600 miles) before crashing into the Sea of Japan.
The missile flew at an altitude of 4,500 km (nearly 2,800 miles), South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports.
It was determined to have posed no threat to the U.S. or its allies.
Officials however believe the launch puts the entire U.S. mainland in range for an attack, Fox News reports.
"We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment of the launch," a Pentagon spokesman said. "The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies."
"Our commitment to the defense of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, remains ironclad," he added. "We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation."
The missile launch comes just days after President Trump announced that the U.S. is designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
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