US President Donald Trump has said a military option against North Korea is “locked and loaded,” ratcheting up  his war of words against the Asian nation.

“Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” Trump tweeted on Friday.

A day earlier, Trump issued another apocalyptic warning to North Korea, saying his previous threat to hit the country with American “fire and fury” maybe “wasn’t tough enough.”

During a lengthy exchange with reporters at his golf club in New Jersey on Thursday, Trump said, “It’s about time someone stood up for the people of our country.”

Responding to North Korea’s rejection of his warning as “nonsense,” Trump said that “maybe it wasn’t tough enough.”

“They’ve been doing this to our country for a long time, many years,” he said. “It’s about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.”

Trump told reporters that they will see what is “tougher” than “fire and fury.”

Republican hawks are also pushing the president towards launching war against North Korea.

GOP Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday the United States should go for a military option against North Korea and predicted that Washington will win the conflict.

“If we have to, we’ll go to war. I don’t want to, but if we have to, we’ll go to war. And I’ll tell you who’ll win that war, we will,” Graham said.

However, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned that war with North Korea would be “catastrophic”.