Mattis claims North Korea diplomacy is working
By Angela Dewan, CNN
Updated 8:13 AM ET, Fri August 11, 2017
... Hours after President Donald Trump intensified his threat to rain "fire and fury" upon North Korea, Mattis said war would be "catastrophic."
It is the second time this week that a key member of the US administration has tried to calm the waters after bellicose comments from the President. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also sought to promote dialogue and diplomacy over military action ...
Responding to a North Korea's threat to fire four missiles in the waters off the US Pacific territory of Guam, home to US military bases, Trump vowed a tough response. "Let's see what he does with Guam," Trump said in apparent reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before" ...
... the Trump administration is still yet to appoint several diplomatic roles key to the North Korea situation, which are being run by temporary officials in an acting capacity. Among them is the post for US Ambassador to South Korea and Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs ...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/11/politics/north-korea-trump-us-diplomacy/index.html