Mattis backs Tillerson effort on North Korea

epa06214243 Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis waits to host an enhanced honor cordon welcoming His Excellency Adrian Tutuianu, the Minister of National Defence of Romania, to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 19 September 2017. Asked by a reporter about President Trump referring to North Korean President Kim Jong-un as 'rocket man' on the floor of the United Nations, Secretary Mattis said he hoped they could resolve the growing crisis diplomatically.  EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO

Bloomberg

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis vouched for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s diplomatic efforts to defuse the North Korea crisis after President Donald Trump said Tillerson “is wasting his time.”
“The Defense Department supports fully Secretary Tillerson’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution but remains focused on defense of the United States and our allies,” Mattis said in testimony on Tuesday at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
While the war in Afghanistan was the announced topic of the hearing, Mattis used his opening statement to voice solidarity with Tillerson. In Beijing on Saturday, Tillerson told reporters that the US was talking to North Korea “directly, through our own channels.” Trump tweeted on Sunday that Tillerson “is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” the label he’s given to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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