Story highlights Trump told the Financial Times that US could "totally" solve the North Korea nuclear issue without China

General who oversees America's nuclear arsenal says North Korea "definition of unpredictable"

Washington (CNN) Gen. John Hyten, the commander of US Strategic Command, which oversees US nuclear weapons and missile defense forces, said Tuesday that China was critical to solving the North Korea nuclear challenge.

"Any solution to the North Korean problem has to involve China," Hyten told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

His comments come days after the publication of an interview where President Donald Trump said that the US was prepared to solve the North Korea issue without Beijing's help.

"If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will," Trump told the Financial Times

Asked to clarify if he believed the US could solve the problem without China, Trump said: "totally."

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