Americans “always have to be concerned” about the prospect of a thermonuclear war with North Korea, Donald Trump has said.

Tensions between the secretive communist state and the US have ratcheted up in recent weeks and the US leader recently boasted that he had dispatched an “armada” to the waters off the Korean peninsula.

Asked how worried Americans should be about the prospect of nuclear war, Mr Trump told US news channel TMJ4: "Look, you always have to be concerned.

North Korean TV shows animation of a nuclear bomb hitting a US city and rows of graves

"You don't know exactly who you're dealing with. I had a great, great meeting with the president of China and that meeting tells me a lot and you've seen a lot of things happen.

“They have a pretty good power, not a great power perhaps, but a pretty good power over North Korea. We're gonna see what happens. It's a very, very tricky situation."

Mr Trump blamed previous presidential administrations for creating the situation with North Korea.

He said the country should have been dealt with by President Obama and "previous presidents all the way back to Clinton".

He added: “Now I'm put in a position where he actually has nuclear and we're going to have to do something about it.!

Mr Trump said he was hopeful that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wanted peace because that is what the US wanted, "but we're going to see what happens.”

The US has adopted a policy of "strategic patience" with North Korea.

In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Show all 16 1 /16 In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean women soldiers take part in a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April AFP/Getty Images In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun A huge military parade in Pyongyang marks the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves during a military parade on 15 April 2017 AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean soldiers carry flags and a photo of Kim Il-sung during a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Soldiers march across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun What military experts say appears to be a North Korean KN-08 inter-continental ballistic missile is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Women wearing traditional Korean dress wave flowers and shout slogans as they pass Kim Jong-Un during a parade in Pyongyang on 15 April AFP/Getty Images In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean female soldiers march during a parade for the 'Day of the Sun' festival on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on 15 April EPA In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Military vehicles carry missiles with characters reading 'Pukkuksong' during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang on 15 April 2017 EPA In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Attendees carry sheets in the colours of North Korea's national flag during a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun A soldier salutes from atop an armoured vehicle during a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun A North Korean woman cries as she looks towards Kim Jong-un during a parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun University students carry the national flag and two bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il during a military parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Missiles are driven past Kim Jong-un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the Day of the Sun in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves from a balcony during a parade for the 'Day of the Sun' festival in Pyongyang on 15 April 2017 EPA In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Missiles are driven past Kim Jong-un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the Day of the Sun in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters

But the Trump administration has made it clear this policy is now over, and has not ruled out military action.

On a recent visit to South Korea, Vice President Mike Pence said: “The era of strategic patience is over. President Trump has made it clear that the patience of the United States and our allies in this region has run out and we want to see change.

“We want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path of the development of nuclear weapons, and also its continual use and testing of ballistic missiles is unacceptable.”