--- description: After North Korea launched a test missile that experts say could reach the U.S. title: Lindsey Graham: The U.S. Could Soon Be at War With North Korea image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2a7a7474f9b92db/6988e7338fd2ee1ed2359c90/gettyimages-881406496.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Foreign Policy](/tag/foreign-policy/) ## Foreign Policy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Lindsey Graham: The U.S. Could Soon Be at War With North Korea  by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Nov 29, 2017 3:37 PM CUT  NOV. 29: People at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, watch a television broadcast reporting North Korea's Tuesday test-launch of its new ICBM NOV. 29: People at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, watch a television broadcast reporting North Korea's Tuesday test-launch of its new ICBMChung Sung-Jun—Getty Images  by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Nov 29, 2017 3:37 PM CUT The U.S. could soon be at war with North Korea, warned Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday, as concerns rise that the reclusive nation has developed an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the U.S. carrying a nuclear warhead. The Pentagon [confirmed](https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1382275/north-korea-launches-icbm/ "undefined") that North Korea had [launched its third ICBM of 2017](http://time.com/5039694/north-korea-missile-launch-november/ "undefined") on Tuesday, which traveled about 1000 kilometers before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. “If we have to go to war to stop this, we will,” Graham [told CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/28/politics/lindsey-graham-north-korea/index.html "undefined") in an interview on Tuesday, after the launch. “If there’s a war with North Korea it will be because North Korea brought it on itself, and we’re headed to a war if things don’t change,” he said. Graham has supported interventionist foreign policy during his career. “I don’t want a war. \[Trump\] doesn’t want a war,” Graham said, “But we’re not going to let this crazy man in North Korea have the capability to hit the homeland.” “I hope the regime understands that if President Trump has to pick between destroying the North Korean regime and the American homeland, he’s going to destroy the regime,” Graham continued. “I hope China understands that also,” he added. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that the launch demonstrated North Korea’s ability to hit “everywhere in the world.” He continued: “The bottom line is, it’s a continued effort to build a threat — a ballistic missile threat that endangers world peace, regional peace and certainly the United States.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5040681/north-korea-lindsey-graham/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5040681/north-korea-lindsey-graham/"},"headline":"Lindsey Graham: The U.S. Could Soon Be at War With North Korea","datePublished":"2017-11-29T15:37:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:22:52.495Z","description":"After North Korea launched a test missile that experts say could reach the U.S.","url":"https://time.com/5040681/north-korea-lindsey-graham/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","North Korea","Nuclear Weapons","National Security","Donald Trump","Lindsey Graham","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2a7a7474f9b92db/6988e7338fd2ee1ed2359c90/gettyimages-881406496.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Billy Perrigo","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2a7a7474f9b92db/6988e7338fd2ee1ed2359c90/gettyimages-881406496.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"South Korea Reacts To North's Missile Launch","caption":"South Korea Reacts To North's Missile Launch","creditText":"Chung Sung-Jun—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5040681/north-korea-lindsey-graham/","name":"Lindsey Graham: The U.S. Could Soon Be at War With North Korea"}}]}] ```