Speaking Tuesday, South Korea President Moon Jae-in appeared to down play Mattis' comments, pointing out the US would need its approval before launching any attack on North Korea. Senior Trump administration officials have said that the US is not interested in regime change, and has no desire to "inflict harm on the long-suffering North Korean people." "We agreed that the most important thing is not to let North Korea launch the missile," Abe told reporters after the meeting. Except US bases in Japan and South Korea, it's the closest US base to North Korea. The annual military drills antagonize North Korea, as Pyongyang believes they are preparations for an invasion.

Source: CNN August 14, 2017 21:59 UTC