WASHINGTON - A senior Republican senator emerged from a dinner with Donald Trump confident the president will not allow North Korea to build a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters Tuesday that North Korea should "not underestimate President Trump's resolve to stop them from getting a missile to hit our homeland."

Graham joined Sen. John McCain of Arizona for the dinner at the White House on Monday evening.

Graham and McCain are defense hawks and have been two of Trump's sharpest GOP critics on foreign policy matters. But both senators are backing Trump's hard line approach on North Korea.

Pyongyang has threatened to use pre-emptive strikes or any other measures it deems necessary to defend itself against the "U.S. imperialists."