Trump says US is ready to tackle North Korea without China

Donald Trump has said that the United States will act alone to eliminate the nuclear threat from North Korea unless China puts more pressure on the regime.

“China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

Speaking to the FT from the Oval Office the US President said: “If they do, that will be very good for China, and if they don’t, it won’t be good for anyone.”

The President is due to meet with the Chinese President Xi Jinping in a scheduled meeting in the US this week, during which Mr Trump said they will be discussing the issue of North Korea.

When asked if he thought it was possible to deal with Pyongyang "one-on-one" he told the newspaper: “I don’t have to say any more. Totally.”

Last month North Korea reportedly said it has nothing to fear from any US move to extend sanctions, and will "accelerate" its nuclear programmes

The acceleration includes developing a "pre-emptive first strike capability", and an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to Choe Myong Nam, deputy ambassador at the DPRK (North Korean) mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

In March China called on the regime to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said escalating tensions were like "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

Wang asked: "Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?"

South Korea and Washington recently started massive joint military drills, which Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.