WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says that how much North Korea's leader desires peace will be a deciding factor in easing tensions between it and the United States.

In an interview with TMJ4-TV in Wisconsin, Trump complains that his predecessors should have dealt with North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal. But he adds that he's in the position now where he is "going to have to do something about it."

Trump says the U.S. wants peace and he hopes North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un wants peace. Trump says that will be "the end determination."

Trump has been pressuring China, North Korea's benefactor, to help defuse the situation but has also warned that the U.S. will settle the issue alone if other countries won't help.