PYONGYANG (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. military continues its 'maximum pressure campaign' in regard to North Korea, and U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula are 'ready to fight tonight,' the Pentagon says.
Pentagon's chief spokesperson Dana W. White said Thursday that Defense Secretary James N. Mattis spoke with President Donald Trump ahead of the cancellation of the planned June 12 summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
U.S. forces on the peninsula maintain their usual high state of vigilance, White and the director of the Joint Staff, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., told reporters in a news briefing.
'In terms of we are ready to fight tonight -- that's always been the case,' White said. 'Our position has always been to support our diplomatic-led effort.'
North Korea has proven to be unpredictable in the past, McKenzie said. U.S. forces are ready to respond quickly to anything that could happen, he added. He described the stance as the 'normal state of vigilance' of the United States.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX