--- title: North Korea: Mattis Says Attack Could Escalate Into War description: Secretary of Defense James Mattis said if the country launches an attack on the U.S., it “could escalate into war very quickly” canonical: https://time.com/4900632/james-mattis-north-korea-escalate-war-donald-trump/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-14T22:04:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:11:25.163Z article:section: Politics og:title: Defense Secretary Says North Korean Attack Could 'Escalate Into War' Quickly og:description: The comments mark a change in tone for James Mattis og:url: https://time.com/4900632/james-mattis-north-korea-escalate-war-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda26d523410097e4/6988d9c1cf40a8794fc48f99/james-mattis-secretary-defense-north-korea-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Defense Secretary Says North Korean Attack Could 'Escalate Into War' Quickly twitter:description: The comments mark a change in tone for James Mattis twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda26d523410097e4/6988d9c1cf40a8794fc48f99/james-mattis-secretary-defense-north-korea-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Defense Secretary James Mattis Says North Korean Attack on U.S. Could 'Escalate Into War' Quickly by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Aug 14, 2017 10:04 PM UTC  Secretary of Defense James Mattis, was present for he Medal of Honor ceremony for former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan, U.S. Army in the East Room of the White House, on July 31, 2017. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, was present for he Medal of Honor ceremony for former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan, U.S. Army in the East Room of the White House, on July 31, 2017.Cheriss May—NurPhoto/Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Aug 14, 2017 10:04 PM UTC Secretary of Defense James Mattis shifted his tone regarding North Korea on Monday, saying if the country launches an attack on American territory, it “could escalate into war very quickly,” [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mattis-says-if-north-korea-fires-at-u-s-it-could-escalate-to-war-quickly/) reports. North Korea and the U.S. have been locked in a battle of [fire words](http://time.com/4896754/north-korea-missile-south-korea-crisis/?iid=sr-link4) in recent days as Pyongyang and Washington have traded increasingly intense threats. After the North tested intercontinental ballistic missiles last month and sharply criticized the U.S. over new United Nations sanctions, President Donald Trump promised to unleash [“fire and fury”](http://time.com/4896078/donald-trump-north-korea-trouble-warning/?iid=sr-link9) on the country. In the midst of the back-and-forth, North Korea has threatened to [attack Guam](http://time.com/4895904/north-korea-guam-why-threatening-donald-trump-missiles/), while Trump has doubled down on his tough stance. Some U.S. have tried to deescalate the situation, such as when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Aug. 9 that “[Americans should sleep well](http://time.com/4892949/rex-tillerson-donald-trump-north-korea-threat/?iid=sr-link1)” and insisted there “is not any imminent threat.” Mattis himself emphasized diplomatic options during an event Aug. 11 and said that war with North Korea “[would be catastrophic](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mattis-says-us-war-with-north-korea-would-be-catastrophic/).” Tillerson and Mattis wrote an opinion piece published in the [Wall Street _Journal_](https://www.wsj.com/articles/were-holding-pyongyang-to-account-1502660253?mg=prod/accounts-wsj) on Monday saying the U.S. is not interested in regime change in North Korea, and is willing to negotiate with Pygongyang if it ends its threats. However, Mattis struck a more aggressive note in his comments to reporters on Monday, according to CBS. He said that if North Korea takes action, “it’s game on,” and added, “we’ll take it out,” indicating that the U.S. may try to shoot down missiles aimed at the U.S. mainland or Guam. Mattis noted that his comments should not be taken as a declaration of war, though. “The bottom line is we will defend the country and for us (the military) that’s war,” he said, according to CBS. “You don’t shoot at people in this world unless you bear the consequences.” North Korea: Mattis Says Attack Could Escalate Into War ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4900632/james-mattis-north-korea-escalate-war-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4900632/james-mattis-north-korea-escalate-war-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Defense Secretary James Mattis Says North Korean Attack on U.S. Could 'Escalate Into War' Quickly","datePublished":"2017-08-14T22:04:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:11:25.163Z","description":"The comments mark a change in tone for the Defense Secretary","url":"https://time.com/4900632/james-mattis-north-korea-escalate-war-donald-trump/","keywords":["North Korea","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda26d523410097e4/6988d9c1cf40a8794fc48f99/james-mattis-secretary-defense-north-korea-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda26d523410097e4/6988d9c1cf40a8794fc48f99/james-mattis-secretary-defense-north-korea-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to former Specialist Five James C. 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