General James 'Mad dog' Mattis warned it is impossible to tell what the future holds for the crisis, but urged US troops to be prepared for a confrontation with Kim Jong-un.
He said while Trump is committed to finding a diplomatic solution, the US Army must "standy ready" to fight.General Mattis said: "It is right now a diplomatically led, economic-sanction buttressed effort to try to turn North Korea off this path.
"Now what does the future hold? Neither you nor I can say, so there is one thing the US Army can do.