US Defense Secretary James Mattis has cautioned against using force to deal with North Korea, saying that a military solution to the situation would be tragic on an unbelievable scale. <br/><br/>He was speaking to reporters at the Pentagon yesterday, days after North Korea test-fired its longest-range rocket. Despite tough talk from top US officials in recent weeks and the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, Mr Mattis said, the best option for North Korea is finding an international solution to effectively apply pressure on Pyongyang. <br/> <br/>North Korea last Sunday launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that is estimated to have reached an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometers. <br/>The US Navy is sending a second aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to waters near the Korean Peninsula to join the USS Carl Vinson for drills.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has cautioned against using force to deal with North Korea, saying that a military solution to the situation would be tragic on an unbelievable scale. <br/><br/>He was speaking to reporters at the Pentagon yesterday, days after North Korea test-fired its longest-range rocket. Despite tough talk from top US officials in recent weeks and the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, Mr Mattis said, the best option for North Korea is finding an international solution to effectively apply pressure on Pyongyang. <br/> <br/>North Korea last Sunday launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that is estimated to have reached an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometers. <br/>The US Navy is sending a second aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to waters near the Korean Peninsula to join the USS Carl Vinson for drills.

US defence chief James Mattis delivered a sombre caution on North Korea saying any military attempts to resolve the crisis would be tragic on an unbelievable scale. <br/><br/>Mattis was speaking to newsmen at the Pentagon yesterday, days after North Korea test-fired what analysts say was its longest-range rocket. Despite tough talk from top US officials in recent weeks and the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, Mattis said the best option for North Korea is finding an international solution to effectively apply pressure on Pyongyang. <br/><br/>He said, if this goes to a military solution, it is going to be tragic on an unbelievable scale, and so our effort is to work with the UN, work with China, work with Japan, work with South Korea to try to find a way out of this situation. <br/>