Let's Punish China if It Fails to Sort Out N Korea's Nuke Issue - Trump

Washington should make Beijing exert pressure on Pyongyang after the hydrogen bomb test, as North Korea "wouldn't eat without China".

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States should make China’s trade with North Korea more difficult if Beijing fails to resolve the nuclear issue amid Pyongyang’s claims of testing a hydrogen bomb, US presidential hopeful Donald Trump stated on Wednesday.

"China has total control, believe me. They say they don’t. They have total control over North Korea," Trump told Fox News.

"And China should solve that problem. If they don’t solve the problem, we should make trade very difficult for China," Trump told Fox News. "North Korea is totally under the control. Without China they wouldn’t eat."

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that China firmly opposes the test and will make a diplomatic representation to the North Korean ambassador in Beijing over the hydrogen bomb testing.

Earlier on Wednesday, an earthquake occurred in South Korea, prompting Seoul's suspicions that Pyongyang had performed a nuclear test. North Korea subsequently confirmed that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

In December, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country possessed a hydrogen bomb and was ready to use it to "protect its sovereignty and national dignity."

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005, and has conducted at least three underground nuclear weapon tests since then, raising concerns both in the neighboring states and worldwide.