U.S. warns N. Korea to avoid acts that would mean ‘end of its regime’

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is warning North Korea to stop “actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.”

The remarks come amid growing tensions over North Korea’s missile-testing and nuclear-weapons program, and a day after President Donald Trump warned about responding with “fire and fury” to the North Korean threat.

Mattis says any action by North Korea would be grossly overmatched by the U.S., and that Pyongyang would lose any arms race or conflict it started. He says that while the U.S. is pursuing diplomatic solutions, the combined military power of America and its allies is the most robust on Earth.

Mattis issued the statement as he traveled to the West Coast.

A new report says Pyongyang’s nuclear program is progressing.