President Donald Trump groused Tuesday in South Korea that he has had to spend so much time managing the rogue regime to the ally's north the first year of his presidency.
North Korea's nuclear ambitions ought to have been curbed 25 years ago, Trump said during a news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul.
'This is not the right time to be doing it, but that’s what I got. That's what I got,' Trump lamented.
Both presidents said they are hopeful that worldwide sanctions will bring North Korea to the table.
‘We have many things happening that we hope, we hope, in fact I’ll go a step further, we hope to God we never have to use,' Trump said of a United States military build-up along the Korean Peninsula and warning once again that he's not afraid of 'using the full range' of the nation's 'unmatched military capabilities.'
Trump said North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has to be aware of the United States' 'unparalleled strength,' reminding him that three US aircraft carriers and a nuclear submarine would soon be in his backyard.
'As we work together to resolve this problem using all available tools short of military action, the United States stands prepared to defend itself and it its allies using the full range of our unmatched military capabilities, if need be,' Trump threatened.
The US Navy said Tuesday that aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers and submarines were on their way to the Pacific for a drill. No reason was provided for the command, CNN reported, although it was an evident show of force just as the president was visiting.
Trump said in Tuesday remarks from Seoul that North Korea 'is a grave nuclear threat to South Korea and indeed the entire world.'
'We cannot allow North Korea to threaten all that we have built, and we have built it very much together,' Trump said. 'We will together confront North Korea's actions and prevent the North Korean dictator from threatening millions of innocent lives.
He is indeed threatening millions and millions of lives so needlessly,' the U.S. president added in a castigation of Kim.
Trump said all nations must cut off North Korea's cash flow by imposing and enforcing international sanctions on Kim and his government.
'It’s time to act with urgency and with great determination,' Trump said.
Earlier Tuesday, in South Korea, Trump said he was pptimistic about his chances to stop North Korea from deploying a nuclear missile capable of reaching America's allies.
'I think we're going to have lots of good answers for you over a period of time, and ultimately it will all work out,' Trump said before a military operational briefing at Camp Humphreys, near Seoul.
'It always works out. It has to work out!'
North Koran dictator Kim Jong-un hasn't carried out a ballistic missile test since September, but there are real concerns at the Pentagon that he might conduct a test launch while Trump is nearby.
His previous tests have flown in the direction of Guam, a U.S. island territory, and directly over Japan.
Trump's appearance Tuesday afternoon in South Korea marked his arrival in the second of five nations on his expansive Asian itinerary.
Air Force One landed at the Osan Air Base shortly after noon, greeted by a 21-cannon salute and a full honor guard.
