Top US military officer warns North Korea that US ready to use 'full range' of military capabilities

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The top U.S. military officer is warning during a trip to Seoul that the United States is ready to use the "full range" of its military capabilities to defend itself and its allies from North Korea.

A spokesman says Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford also told his South Korean counterparts Monday that the North's missiles and nukes threaten the world.

Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. He will then travel to Japan and China.

The trip follows a week in which President Donald Trump waged a war of words with North Korea, declaring the U.S. military "locked and loaded."

North Korea, meanwhile, has threatened to lob four intermediate-range missiles into the waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.

NOW WATCH: WATCH: Trump says North Korea will feel 'fire and fury like the world has never seen' if they continue threats