Trump doesn’t rule out military force against North Korea

President Trump said Wednesday that a military strike was not his first option for dealing with a nuclear-armed North Korea — but he didn’t rule it out.

“We will not be putting up with what’s happening with North Korea,” Trump said. “We’re going to see what happens.”

Trump’s comments were his most extensive public response to North Korea’s statement Sunday that it had tested another nuclear device — its sixth.

While the White House has insisted throughout the latest crisis that “all options are on the table,” Trump’s tweets and off-the-cuff statements have trended toward the bellicose. Trump has said he didn’t think diplomacy would be productive but was leaving military options open.

Trump discussed the issue Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what Trump described as “a very frank and very strong phone call.”

“President Xi would like to do something. We’ll see whether or not he can do it,” he said. “I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100%. He doesn’t want to see what’s happening there, either.”

Trump aides have floated the idea of additional sanctions against countries that still do business with the rogue North Korean regime, which already is under tight financial pressure from sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations.

China is the largest trading partner for both North Korea and the United States.

Trump spoke to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House as he boarded a helicopter on his way to North Dakota for a speech on tax reform.