Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to "deal with" North Korea, calling it "a big, big problem", reports The Associated Press.

The comments come after North Korea’s ballistic missile test which took place over the weekend, though Trump did not specifically mention the test.

Speaking at a joint news conference at the White House with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump was not asked about the missile test, but he brought up North Korea when a reporter asked what are the "most important national security problems" facing the U.S.

"Obviously, North Korea is a big, big problem and we will deal with that very strongly," Trump said, according to AP. He did not elaborate.

North Korea tried to launch a Musudan eight times last year but most of those attempts failed. It did, however, carried out two nuclear tests last year, in defiance of UN sanctions.

The latest test came a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). State media later said such a launch could come “at any time”.

The missile launched in the latest test, however, did not appear to be an ICBM.

The Pentagon was more pointed in its assessment of the North Korean problem on Monday, according to AP.

A spokesman said technical advancements in North Korea's ballistic missile programs, demonstrated in the latest test-launch from a mobile launcher, pose a "clear, grave threat" to U.S. security.

"North Korea's unlawful weapons programs represent a clear, grave threat to our national security," Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said.

"North Korea openly states that its ballistic missiles are intended to deliver nuclear weapons to strike cities in the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan," he added.

Davis said the U.S. tracked the flight of the missile launched on Saturday evening (U.S. time) and assessed that it traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan. He said the missile appeared to be a land variant of a submarine-launched ballistic missile known outside of Korea as the KN-11.

On Saturday night, following the test, Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to work together in the face of North Korea’s provocations.

"The United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent," Trump said at a joint press conference with Abe in Florida.

"We will work together to promote our shared interests, of which we have many, in the region, including freedom from navigation and of navigation and defending against the North Korean missile and nuclear threat, both of which I consider a very, very high priority."

Abe said the launch was "absolutely unacceptable" and called on North Korea to "fully comply" with UN Security Council resolutions.