Military action not first choice on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue: Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that military action was not the "first choice" of his administration on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

U.S. President Donald Trump [File Photo: AP]

On his way to Bismarck, North Dakota, where he'll participate in a tax reform event, Trump told reporters that military action against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was "not a first choice, but we will see what happens."

The DPRK on Sunday detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), DPRK's Central Television announced.

DPRK's nuclear testing and launches using ballistic missile technology have violated UN Security Council resolutions.

China's permanent representative to the United Nations Liu Jieyi on Monday condemned the latest nuclear test by the DPRK and urged the country to return to the track of dialogue. China will not allow chaos and war on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

Liu said the suspension-for-suspension proposal and dual-track approach put forward by China together with the Russian proposal of a step-by-step approach is a realistic and feasible roadmap for the settlement of the issue.

The idea of dual approach involves parallel efforts to move forward both de-nuclearization and the establishment of a peaceful mechanism on the peninsula. The initiative of suspension-for-suspension calls for the DPRK to suspend its nuclear and missile activities and for the United States and South Korea to suspend their large-scale military exercises.