Washington (CNN) CIA Director Mike Pompeo said the United States has to act as if North Korea is on the verge of being able to strike it with a missile and act accordingly -- and that President Donald Trump is ready to do so.

JUST WATCHED Why does North Korea hate the US? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Why does North Korea hate the US? 01:53

"From a US policy perspective, we ought to behave as if we are on the cusp of them achieving that objective," Pompeo said Thursday at a security forum held by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "They are so far along in that, it's now a matter of thinking about how do you stop the final step."

"Whether it happens on Tuesday or a month from Tuesday, we're in a time where the President has concluded that we have a global effort to ensure that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un does not obtain that capacity," Pompeo continued.

Pompeo is among a number of former officials who have been signaling the increased possibility of a slide into military confrontation with North Korea over its refusal to back down from its nuclear program.

JUST WATCHED N. Korea: No diplomacy until ICBM can hit US Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH N. Korea: No diplomacy until ICBM can hit US 02:29

The CIA chief spoke at the forum shortly before national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who also said the President wasn't prepared to accept a nuclear Pyongyang.

Read More