Story highlights "They can pay for it indirectly through NAFTA," Trump said

Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign that he would build a wall on the Southern US border

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump signaled Thursday that he is willing, if necessary, to use the NAFTA negotiations to make good on his promise for that Mexico will pay for a border wall.

The statement comes as his administration is in the midst of seeking federal funding for his long-promised border wall and also renegotiating the US' trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

"They can pay for it indirectly through NAFTA," Trump said Thursday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal . "We make a good deal on NAFTA, and, say, 'I'm going to take a small percentage of that money and it's going toward the wall.' Guess what? Mexico's paying."

Trump's comments came hours after he was updated by his administration's top economic and trade advisers on the progress of those negotiations and the administration's trade actions more broadly.

Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign that he would build a wall on the Southern US border and force Mexico to pay for it. But Trump has seen little progress on either front, with Democrats in Congress refusing to greenlight funding for Trump's border wall and the Mexican President making clear Mexico would never fund Trump's proposed barrier.

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