Report: White House explores military force as an option against North Korea

In early January, President Trump tweeted, "North Korea just stated that is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!"

Both in interviews and speeches, Trump has reinforced a strong stance against North Korea.

In another sign his administration sees the Asian nation as a serious threat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, "An internal White House review of strategy on North Korea includes the possibility of military force or regime change to blunt the country's nuclear-weapons threat, people familiar with the process said, a prospect that has some U.S. allies in the region on edge."

Trump's past statements that North Korea would be prevented from furthering its mission of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile along with a strategy evaluation may herald a new direction for the U.S. policy against the isolated nation, notes the Journal.

CNN reported on Tuesday that the president sees North Korea as the "greatest immediate threat" according to an official in his administration.

Use of the military force, however, may be a far-fetched idea currently and other options seem more plausible. According to CNN, Trump "has said that the US should leverage China's cooperation in helping to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program, claiming on the campaign trail that China has 'total control over North Korea .'"

Also, in an interview on 'Fox & Friends' earlier this year, Trump commented, "China should solve that problem...And if they don't solve the problem, we should make trade very difficult for China."