'US never out of diplomatic solutions on N Korea'

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that the US is "never out of diplomatic solutions" following the latest missile launch by North Korea.

Mattis made the remarks on Wednesday while meeting his South Korean counterpart Soon Young-moo at the Pentagon to discuss ways to address the threat posed by North Korea, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We continue to work together, and the minister and I share responsibility to provide for the protection of our nation, our populations and our interests, which is what we are here to discuss today," Mattis said.

On Tuesday, the Japanese government said that North Korea fired a missile that fell into the Pacific Ocean after passing over the Japanese archipelago.

On Wednesday, Trump spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, their second conversation after the latest missile launch by North Korea.

The two leaders confirmed their "continuing, close" cooperation on efforts to address North Korea's launch of an intermediate range ballistic missile this week, according to the White House.

--IANS

pgh/