The US is pushing for tougher UN economic sanctions against North Korea as President Trump says military action is "not our first choice".

His comments are a step back from those last month where he threatened "fire and fury" against Pyongyang.

In a new diplomatic move, the White House wants the UN Security Council to slap an oil embargo on the secretive state as well as hitting dictator Kim Jong Un with a travel ban and freezing his assets.

The US, which has accused Kim of "begging for war", also believes there should be a ban on the country exporting textiles and the hiring of North Korean workers abroad.

The proposed measures are contained in a draft resolution which the US wants the 15-member council to vote on this Monday.


But Russia said that could be "a little premature" and its leader Vladimir Putin has said solving the crisis was impossible with sanctions alone.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang escalated after the rogue nation claimed last Sunday it had detonated a hydrogen bomb - its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date.

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It said its test was a "perfect success" and the bomb was designed to be mounted on its newly-developed intercontinental ballistic missile.

Mr Trump has urged China, which is the North's main trading partner and provides much of its oil supply, to put more pressure on Kim to limit his controversial nuclear programme.

The US leader told reporters he has had a "strong" and "frank" phone conversation with China's President Xi Jinping about North Korea and said neither of them would put up with the rogue nation's provocative actions.

The White House said both leaders were committed to taking "further action" aimed at "denuclearising" the Korean peninsula.

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Mr Trump did not rule out military strikes against Kim's secretive state, but indicated other options for pressure would come first, adding "we'll see what happens".

He said: "President Xi would like to do something. We'll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what's happening in North Korea."

He added: "I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100%. We had a very, very frank and very strong phone call."

President Xi told his US counterpart that Beijing remains committed to stopping the North's nuclear ambitions and maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

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For a UN Security Council resolution to be adopted, it needs nine members to back it and no vetoes by the US, Britain, France, Russia or China.

Sky's Washington Correspondent Mark Austin said: "China fears tough sanctions could bring down the Kim regime and that would lead to chaos on its border.

"It's going to be very hard for Donald Trump to get China on side. There is no sign yet that they will back really tough sanctions."

Washington has rejected China's proposal for a freeze on the North's nuclear and missile tests in exchange for a suspension of US-South Korea military drills.

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A report in South Korea on Tuesday claimed Kim's regime was seen moving what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile towards its west coast.

Analysts say it is most likely the secretive state will carry out its next "provocative" act on or around 9 September when the country celebrates its founding day.