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US President Donald Trump has warned he is considering "some pretty severe things" in response to North Korea's "very, very bad behaviour" and urged all nations to confront the isolated nation after an unprecedented missile test earlier this week.
Mr Trump, in his first public comments since North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, declined to offer specifics about what a US response might entail, though called it a "threat" and said the US would "confront it very strongly".
The President said it was not certain that he would follow through on the severe steps he was weighing, adding that he does "not draw red lines".
"It's a shame that they're behaving this way," Mr Trump said of North Korea.
"But they are behaving in a very, very dangerous manner, and something will have to be done about it."
The US has been considering a range of possible sanctions, economic measures and other steps in response to Pyongyang.
China's foreign ministry has called for all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint, with a spokesman telling a daily news briefing that China fully implements United Nations sanctions on North Korea.
But China's Vice-Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao warned the US not to use them as an excuse to impose sanctions against China's financial institutions.
"The US should not use their domestic laws as excuses to levy sanctions against Chinese financial institutions."
The US President earlier criticised China for its continued trade with Pyongyang, tweeting that trade between the two states had grown "40 [per cent] in the first quarter".
As world leaders gathered in Europe ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged dialogue with North Korea and said a peace treaty to permanently end the Korean War must be signed by all parties to establish lasting peace on the peninsula.
Mr Moon said the North made a disappointing and misguided decision to conduct the ballistic missile test and it now faced the last chance to make the right choice.
"We do not wish for the collapse of North Korea and we will not pursue any form of unification by absorbing the other. We will not pursue unification by force," he said.
Warning comes during Trump's second trip to Europe
The test of an ICBM marked a major technological advancement for North Korea that US officials have described as intensifying the threat against the US by bringing the North closer to being able to mount a nuclear warhead atop a missile that could hit American soil.
Mr Trump's comments in Poland came as he opened his second visit to Europe, a trip that will include meetings with several European leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US President started his first day in Europe at the Royal Castle, welcomed by President Andrzej Duda and a vigorous handshake in front of a white marble bust of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland.
The leaders then retreated to a room decorated with red walls for their private talks.
Later in the day, Mr Trump delivered a speech from Krasinski Square, where Polish media reports said the Government, as part of its invitation to Mr Trump, promised the White House a reception of cheering crowds.
AP/Reuters
Topics: donald-trump, unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, government-and-politics, united-states, korea-democratic-people-s-republic-of, poland
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