On Saturday U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the United States was encouraged by China’s efforts to restrain North Korea. He added though, that Washington would not accept Beijing’s militarization of islands in the South China Sea. Mattis made the comments during the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He said the threat from North Korea was "clear and present." He also said that Pyongyang had increased its pace of pursuing nuclear weapons.
