Talking peace while preparing for war, U. S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said a war against North Korea will be immediately "catastrophic" for both North and South Korea.

More ominously, Mattis labeled North Korea a direct threat to the U.S. on account of this country's twin efforts to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of striking Alaska first and the U.S. mainland later on, and a nuclear warhead to be delivered by these ICBMs.

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"A conflict in North Korea would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes," said Mattis.

"The bottom line is it would be a catastrophic war if this turns into a combat if we're not able to resolve this situation through diplomatic means."

He noted that North Korea has been "very clear in their rhetoric (about developing an ICBM). We don't have to wait until they have an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear weapon on it to say that now it's manifested completely."

His remarks reinforce a similar statement made last week by Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), who told the Senate Armed Services Committee the possibility of North Korea launching an ICBM with a nuclear warhead at the U.S. was very real after recent missile tests.

North Korea has tested and launched one ballistic missile every week for the past three weeks.

Gen. Stewart claimed that if North Korea were left on the "current trajectory, the regime will ultimately succeed (in developing a nuclear armed ICBM)."

Despite the chilling rhetoric, Mattis' statements hold out the hope that North Korea has arrived at the same calculus, and might prove more willing to negotiate rather than risk being engulfed by this catastrophe.

Other respected U.S. leaders have pointed out the futility of a war against North Korea. Only last week, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Dennis Blair, former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) under President Barack Obama, argued that because a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula will be "tragic on an unbelievable scale," the best and only option for the U.S. is to accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

Adm. Blair's startling comments came as the U.S. is accelerating obvious preparations for a punitive precision strike on North Korea's nuclear facilities.

Only yesterday, the Pentagon said it had ordered a third U.S. Navy nuclear powered supercarrier -- the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) -- to sail for Asia to reinforce two other aircraft carriers already deployed there.

The Nimitz; her Carrier Strike Group Eleven (CSG-11); her Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) and Destroyer Squadron 23 are expected to set sail for Asia as soon as possible. Preparations are being accelerated for the departure of this powerful naval force from its homeport at Naval Base Kitsap on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State.

The arrival of the Nimitz in Asia will result in the largest single gathering of U.S. aircraft carriers in one place since the Gulf War or Operation Desert Shield in 1991. It will also be the largest assembly of U.S. aircraft carriers in Asia since the Vietnam War

This powerful naval force sends what might be an unmistakable signal the U.S. is seriously considering a punitive strike to destroy North Korea's nuclear production facilities.

There will be over 250 aircraft combined aboard the Nimitz; the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) now patrolling off Korea and the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) that recently departed its homeport in Japan to join the Vinson.

"Si vis pacem, para bellum." ("If you want peace, prepare for war.")

TagsJames Mattis, intercontinental ballistic missiles, ICBM, North Korea, nuclear warhead, Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart