Trump says ‘only one thing will work’ against North Korea

US President Donald Trump on Saturday set off a fresh round of speculation, after he tweeted that “only one thing will work” with North Korea, but failed to divulge what that might be.

Earlier, he had indicated the possibility of military action against Pyongyang, remarking unprompted at a dinner with US military leaders last week that the setting was the “calm before the storm”, another remark which he has not shed light on. When asked, he simply said: “You will find out.”

On Saturday, he fired off two tweets: “Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid… hasn’t worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of US negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!”

When asked what is the “one thing” that will work, Trump said: “Well, you’ll figure that out pretty soon.”

His tweets sound particularly ominous given his recent rhetoric on North Korea. In his first speech to the UN General Assembly, he had threatened to “totally destroy” the country, and he has derided its leader Kim Jong Un as “little Rocket Man”.

Trump’s repeated threat of action and choice of words suggesting destruction put him at odds with his secretary of state Rex Tillerson and defence secretary James Mattis, who have both publically pressed for a diplomatic solution.

While he has been dismissive of diplomacy, experts maintain that it is his best and only option, for now — any use of force will imperil ally South Korea, which will likely be targeted by Pyongyang in the first wave of retaliatory attacks.

Americans are nervous about Trump’s conduct of the confrontation. In a recent poll by The Washington Post and ABC, only 37% respondents said they trusted Trump a “great deal” or a “good amount” to take a responsible decision on North Korea, compared to 72% who said they trusted the military leaders.