North Korea just blinked With the strong statements from Defense Secretary Jim  Mad Dog  Mattis and after President Trump s threats of massive retaliation for any new threat against the U.S., NoKo backed off Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave a quick statement that could be what resonated with NoKo. He said it s  game on  if North Korea fires missiles at Guam.  If they shoot at the United States, I m assuming they hit the United States. If they do that, then it s game on,  Mattis said.  I think if they fire at the United States, it could escalate into war very quickly, yes. That s called war, if they shoot at us. Mattis then said,  Let s not do this, OK, folks? Let s not start saying,  General Mattis said it s war,   Secretary Mattis said it s war,  War is up to the president, perhaps up to the Congress. The bottom line is we will defend the country from an attack. It s not that I m over here, you know, Dr. Strangelove, you know, doing things like that, OK? Mattis made the point that he would know within minutes if a missile was fired towards the U.S. He said,  We ll take it out. You don t shoot at people in this world, unless you want to bear the consequences. OK? All right. THERE YOU GO! THIS IS A VERY STRONG REBUKE TO THE THREATS AND IT SEEMS TO HAVE WORKED. 