US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin: Will do everything to avoid nuclear war with North Korea

WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday said that they wanted to avoid nuclear war with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"The president doesn't want to be in a nuclear war, and we will do everything we can to make sure that doesn't occur," said Mnuchin. 

"I can assure you the president's number one priority is the safety of the American people and our allies," he added.

Mnuchin was the latest top official to offer reassurance after US President Donald Trump ratcheted up tension with the DPRK with threats, Xinhua reported.

Trump on Tuesday threatened in a speech at the UN General Assembly that the US "will have no choice than to totally destroy" the country if forced to defend itself or its allies.

After the threat, the DPRK said it might test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile on Sunday, a new poll found that an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose a preemptive strike on the DPRK and most Americans trust US military leaders instead of US Trump to handle the nuclear crisis responsibly.

According to the Washington Post-ABC News poll, 67 per cent of Americans believe that the US should launch a military strike on the DPRK only if the country first attacks them or their allies.

As to their confidence in Trump on solving the DPRK nuclear issue, 37 per cent of Americans trust Trump either "a great deal" or "a good amount" to handle the issue in a responsible way, with 42 per cent saying that they trust Trump "not at all."