President Donald Trump (CNSNews.com/Melanie Arter)

(CNSNews.com) - President Donald Trump said Thursday that military action would be an option when it comes to dealing with North Korea in the wake of reports this week that Pyongyang has tested a hydrogen bomb capable of being mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - its most powerful nuclear test yet.



During a joint White House press conference with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah, Trump was asked if he would “tolerate a nuclearized North Korea that is deterred but still nuclear” or whether it would have to “abandon nuclear weapons” and whether military action is one of the options necessary to achieve that goal.





“Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing’s inevitable. It would be great if something else could be worked out. We would have to look at all of the details, all of the facts, but we’ve had presidents for 25 years now,” Trump said.



“They’ve been talking, talking, talking, and the day after an agreement is reached, new work begins in North Korea, continuation on nuclear, so I would prefer not going the route of the military, but it’s something certainly that could happen,” he said.



“Our military has never been stronger. We are in a position now, and you know the new orders. You see the numbers just like I see the numbers. It’s been tens of billions of dollars more in investment and new equipment is delivered - new and beautiful equipment - the best in the world, the best anywhere in the world by far. Hopefully we’re not going to have to use it on North Korea. If we do use it on North Korea, it will be a very sad day for North Korea,” the president said.



When pressed again on whether it was “acceptable for North Korea to be nuclearized but contained and deterred” and whether that was a strategy the president preferred, Trump said, “We’re gonna see what it is. No, I’m not negotiating with you.



“Maybe we’ll have a chance to negotiate with somebody else, but I don’t put my negotiations on the table unlike past administrations. I don’t talk about them, but I can tell you that North Korea’s behaving badly, and it’s gotta stop,” he said.