US President Donald Trump has said he wants to build up the US nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the "top of the pack," saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.
In a Reuters interview, Mr Trump also said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea "very easily if they want to," ratcheting up pressure on the Chinese government to exert more influence to rein in North Korean actions.
In his first comments about the US nuclear arsenal since taking office on 20 January, Mr Trump said the United States has "fallen behind on nuclear weapon capacity.
"I am the first one that would like to see everybody - nobody have nukes, but we're never going to fall behind any country, even if it’s a friendly country, we're never going to fall behind on nuclear power.
"It would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we're going to be at the top of the pack," Mr Trump said.
The new strategic arms limitation treaty, known as NewSTART, between the US and Russia requires that by 5 February 2018 both countries must limit their arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons to equal levels for ten years.
The treaty permits both countries to have no more than 800 deployed and non-deployed land-based intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers and heavy bombers equipped to carry nuclear weapons, and contains equal limits on other nuclear weapons.
Analysts have questioned whether Mr Trump wants to abrogate NewSTART or would begin deploying other warheads.
In the interview, Mr Trump called New START "a one-sided deal".
He said it is "just another bad deal that the country made, whether it's START, whether it's the Iran deal ... We're going to start making good deals."
The US is in the midst of a $1 trillion, 30-year modernisation of its aging ballistic missile submarines, bomber sand land-based missiles, a price tag that most experts say the country cannot afford.
Mr Trump also complained that the Russian deployment of a ground-based cruise missile is in violation of a 1987 treaty that bans land-based American and Russian intermediate-range missiles.
"To me it's a big deal," Mr Trump said.
Asked if he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Trump said he would do so "if and when we meet."
He said he had no meetings scheduled as of yet with Mr Putin.
Speaking from behind his desk in the Oval Office, Mr Trump declared that "we're very angry" at North Korea's ballistic missile tests and said accelerating a missile defense system for US allies Japan and South Korea was among many options available.
"There's talks of a lot more than that," Mr Trump said, when asked about the missile defense system.
"We'll see what happens. But it's a very dangerous situation, and China can end it very quickly in my opinion."
