Trump: Call with Chinese leader on N. Korea ‘very frank and very strong’

President Trump said on Wednesday that he had a “very, very frank and very strong phone call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding possible actions against North Korea. 

“We had a very good phone call. It lasted for a long time. President Xi would like to do something. We’ll see whether or not he can do it,” Trump told reporters while boarding Marine One ahead of a trip to North Dakota to discuss tax reform. 

“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 percent. He doesn’t want to see what’s happening there either. We had a very, very frank and very strong phone call.” 

{mosads}The phone call comes after North Korea announced a successful test of a miniaturized hydrogen bomb that can fit atop an intercontinental ballistic missile. The latest in a series of aggressive military actions by North Korea has raised fears that Pyongyang is closer to mounting a nuclear weapon on a long-range missile. 

“We’re going to see what happens. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said when asked if he was considering military action against North Korea. “Certainly, that’s not our first choice, but we will see what happens.” 

Trump previously said the U.S. would respond with “fire and fury” to further provocations by the country, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to launch missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam. 

Trump in the past has criticized China, which holds significant political and economic influence over North Korea, for a lack of progress in reining in the rogue nation.