U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint press conference in March | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Merkel takes swipe at Trump’s fiery North Korea comments ‘Escalation of rhetoric’ is wrong answer to crisis, German chancellor says.

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday implicitly criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's fiery comments on North Korea and called for the crisis over Pyongyang's missile program to be resolved through diplomacy.

When asked at a press conference in Berlin whether Germany would “stand by the U.S. in case of war,” Merkel did not respond directly but said: "I consider an escalation of rhetoric the wrong answer."

"I do not see a military solution to this conflict," she added. Instead, the chancellor suggested that the crisis should be resolved through the United Nations Security Council and cooperation between the U.S. and regional powers like China, South Korea and Japan.

A war of words between the U.S. and North Korea has been taking place over the past week, with Trump threatening to unleash "fire and fury." In response, Pyongyang said it will fire missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday compared the current standoff to the lead-up to World War I. Gabriel said during a visit to Uganda that he feared that “like in World War I, we will sleepwalk into war. Only this time it might be a nuclear war.” He said Trump sounded just like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and warned the U.S. president against escalation.

Merkel's comments came after Trump tweeted on Friday that "military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely."

This article has been updated.