U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey says President Donald Trump is "gambling" with nuclear war with his continued saber-rattling at North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.

"The situation in North Korea is a very dangerous situation for the United States of America and for the entire world," Markey who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's East Asia Subcommittee, told reporters today.

"President Trump is gambling with possible nuclear war when he doubles down on threats of a major, major conflict with North Korea. We don't need tough talk from President Trump, we need tough diplomacy," the Bay State Democrat said at the JFK Federal Building in downtown Boston.

So dire are tensions between the two world powers that Markey supports U.S. Pacific Command Adm. Harry Harris Jr.'s call last week to station defense radar and ballistic missile interceptors in Hawaii.

"The admiral in charge of our fleet testified that he believes the North Koreans have the ballistic missile capacity to reach Hawaii. So, it would be important for us to have a ballistic missile defense system that could help to protect against an accidental launch from a tripwire having been crossed by the United States and North Korea," Markey said.

Still, in a showdown with North Korea, Markey concedes "the likelihood of there being a diplomatic resolution is low.

"The solution has to be that the United States speaks with a single voice and that that voice is calling on tougher sanctions on the North Korean economy and tougher sanctions on any company or country doing business with North Korea, and that the United States talk directly with the North Koreans," Markey said.

"President Trump must realize that there is no military solution to this crisis with North Korea. We must negotiate with North Korea in partnership with the Chinese putting a stranglehold on the North Korean economy."

To the contrary, Markey claims there has been a 37 percent increase in trade between China and North Korea since last year.

"The Chinese are not doing enough to let the North Koreans know that they are going to pay a price if they continue this dangerous activity of nuclear weapons testing and intercontinental ballistic missile testing, which could threaten the United States of America," he said.

"China has the economic capacity to be able to deal with this issue; however, historically, it has not done so. It is our responsibility to have the world community come together to put pressure on the Chinese.

"The Chinese do not want a war on the Korean Peninsula," he said. "The Chinese do not want to have to deal with refugees that would be flooding into China. The Chinese don't want to have to deal with a fact that there could be an accidental war because North Korea or the United States do not know where that tripwire is. We could stumble into an accidental war with the North Koreans that could escalate very rapidly from conventional into nuclear war."

Markey said Trump is "sending mixed messages" by touting his good relations with China President Xi Jinping, while warning of escalating hostilities with North Korea.

"It is not helpful for him to say that he is not going to take the military option off the table. The North Koreans will not respond well to that approach. It has not been successful in the past, it is not going to be successful now," Markey said.

"North Korea has nuclear weapons right now. North Korea could destroy South Korea right now with its nuclear weapons. North Korea could destroy Japan right now with its nuclear weapons. A military escalation is not an acceptable option. We have to find a way to diplomatically resolve this issue."

Asked to grade Trump's first 100 days in office, meanwhile, Markey said the Republican-led administration has failed.

"The president continues to act as though Pennsylvania Avenue is a one-way street," Markey said. "Democrats and Republicans want to do great things for our country, but we cannot do great things if the president just continues to put down a marker on a tax break for billionaires, or health care reform that takes away health care for ordinary families without any consultation with Democrats whatsoever. That is just a guaranteed recipe for failure.

"So he has a decision that he has to make: Is he going to work in conformance with the Constitution and the way in which it is structured or is he just going to continue to ignore it," Markey said. "James Madison and John Adams knew what they were doing when they constructed the United States Constitution. Thus far, it looks like Donald Trump has not yet successfully passed a remedial constitutional law course, which is going to be the precondition for his presidency becoming successful. Thus far, it is a failure."