(LEAD) Trump says N. Korea 'will be handled'

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By Lee Haye-ah

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration will "handle" North Korea following its test of a second intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

Trump made the remark at a Cabinet meeting in response to a reporter's question about what he can do about the North.

"We'll handle North Korea. We'll be able to handle North Korea," he said, according to a pool report. "It will be handled. We handle everything."

The president did not elaborate further, leaving some to wonder what he meant by the word "handle."

The question was raised during a Pentagon press briefing later in the day, to which a spokesman responded that the U.S. will uphold its alliances with South Korea and Japan and come to their defense should either of them come under attack.

The spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, also said the Pentagon is committed to defending the homeland and providing the president and other decision makers with "military options."

"We're always working on that," Davis said.

He added, however, that military options are only one part of a broader U.S. strategy that also includes diplomatic and financial pressures on the regime in Pyongyang.

"Some of them involve other countries like China," he said.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration with China, saying the world's second largest economy does "nothing for us with North Korea, just talk."

China, a key ally and economic benefactor of the North, has been reluctant to push the regime too hard out of considerations for its own national security. Beijing rejects the argument, saying the nuclear conundrum is an issue to be solved between Washington and Pyongyang.

Trump has made ambiguous statements about North Korea before. In January, he tweeted, "It won't happen!" with regard to the regime's claim of being in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the U.S.

The two ICBM tests on U.S. Independence Day and last Friday demonstrated the North has made significant progress in its pursuit of such a weapon, according to experts.

After Friday's test, Trump issued a statement condemning the launch and warning of deeper isolation for such "reckless and dangerous" action.

hague@yna.co.kr
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