US ready to stop N Korean nuke menace: Trump tells Macron

The US is ready along with its allies to apply the full range of diplomatic, economic and military measures to stop the North Korean nuclear menace, President Donald Trump told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron today.

Trump and Macron spoke over phone and discussed the need to confront the increasingly dangerous situation regarding North Korea's destabilising and escalatory behaviour, the White House said.

"Trump reiterated to President Macron the United States' commitment to stop the North Korean nuclear menace. President Trump stated that the United States is ready, along with its allies, to apply the full range of diplomatic, economic, and military measures to achieve that goal," said a readout of the phone call.
 

"Trump and Macron pledged to work together with allies and partners to enforce United Nations sanctions and achieve denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," the White House said.

The phone call with the French President came hours after Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping. North Korea dominated the conversation between the two leaders, according to a readout of the call.

According to the White House, Trump and Xi affirmed that the recent adoption of a new UN Security Council resolution regarding North Korea was an important and necessary step toward achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

They agreed that North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour, the White House said.

Trump also reiterated their mutual commitment to denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, it added.

"Trump looks forward to seeing Xi in China later this year, a meeting that will be a very historic event. The relationship between the two Presidents is an extremely close one, and will hopefully lead to a peaceful resolution of the North Korea problem," the White House said.

Trump's warning came after the North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles over Japan towards the US Pacific island of Guam.