Mattis: North Korea has ramped up missile, nuclear programs

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee Monday night that Pyongyang’s ‘continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them had increased in pace and scope” and “had not abated despite UN censure and sanctions.”

In Tokyo, US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon said on Tuesday that North Korea's nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program would make North Korea a global threat. He spoke after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's top national security adviser, Shotaro Yachi.

South Korea's top national security adviser Chung Eui-yong insisted that,despite the delay, the decisions to install the remaining launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system was unchanged.