He said he chose to go to Japan and South Korea first in order to demonstrate that nothing will weaken the U.S. security promises. The current South Korean government supports THAAD deployment, but China has pushed hard to change that. In his remarks Friday, the South Korean defense chief, Han, echoed Mattis's concern about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. He described Mattis's visit so early in his tenure as a warning to North Korea. The Trump administration is reviewing the U.S. approach to North Korea, along with other aspects of U.S. defense and foreign policy.

Source: ABC News February 03, 2017 09:52 UTC