The White House is pushing back on the claim that a National Security Council (NSC) official suggested that a pre-emptive strike on North Korea could help the Republican Party's political odds in the midterm elections.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders fired back at a Wall Street Journal reporter on Twitter after he tweeted a story published by a South Korean newspaper alleging that the NSC's senior director for Asian affairs, Matthew Pottinger, mentioned a possible strike on North Korea as a way to bolster political support for the GOP.

Never happened. Pottinger is a Marine who served in two wars and doesn’t take military action lightly. Can’t believe @WSJ reporter didn’t reach out for a comment before repeating such a reckless accusation. https://t.co/B270jlqHUs — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) February 3, 2018

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Her tweet came in response to a post by the Journal's Seoul bureau chief Jonathan Cheng, who had initially tweeted the allegation, attributing it to the newspaper Hankyoreh. Cheng has since deleted the tweet.

The alleged quote from Pottinger was used in an op-ed published by Hankyoreh. But the quote was initially included in an earlier article by the newspaper's Washington correspondent, which cites a source as saying that Pottinger's suggestion was implied, rather than explicit.

According to Business Insider, the Korean version of the op-ed states that Pottinger said something "to the effect" that a limited strike on North Korea might help the Republicans' chances in the midterm elections.

The alleged quote prompted concern, because it suggested that the Trump administration might see a military confrontation with North Korea as a viable political tactic and a way to rack up support in the face of President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE's dwindling approval ratings.

Trump has repeatedly threatened the possibility of military action against North Korea, warning that he would "totally destroy" the country if it threatened the U.S. or its allies.

Those threats, and similar ones from North Korean officials, have heightened fears of war on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang has made a series of new developments in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs over the past year, causing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea to soar.