"Kim's shameful conduct to extremely shelter and flatter the U.S. invasion plot is an act to sell out his country and ridicule and insult South Korean public sentiment while bringing in the source of a catastrophe which South Korean people detest", it said.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who chaired the meeting, flatly rebuffed these remarks, saying the USA "will not negotiate our way back to the negotiating table with North Korea, we will not reward their violations of past resolutions, we will not reward their bad behavior with talks".

Trump's comment about meeting Kim comes as tensions have risen in recent months between the U.S. and North Korea as Pyongyang has sought to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and Washington has made a show of force in the region to deter their use.

It said America's "vast territory is exposed to our preemptive nuclear strike" and that its army was "waiting for the moment it will reduce the whole of the US mainland to ruins with its absolute weaponry of justice". There are signs that North Korea might be preparing either its sixth nuclear test or a long-range missile launch, and the White House has refused to rule out military action in response.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense's (THAAD) key parts arrived only last week in the South's remote Seongju County, where protesters are upset by the swift deployment because of health, environment and security risks.

It has spoken of restarting negotiations with the North and even suggested resuming food aid to North Korea once it starts dismantling its nuclear and missile programs.

"I am asking foreign and security ministries to further strengthen military readiness in order for North Korea not to miscalculate", Hwang told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Retail conglomerate Lotte, which previously owned the golf course, has also been targeted, with 85 of its 99 stores in China shut down, while South Korea's biggest automaker Hyundai Motor has said its Chinese sales have fallen sharply.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has urged a tough approach to North Korea, warned that Trump would be legitimizing Kim by granting a meeting to the leader of a brutal regime.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it", Trump told the New York-based Bloomberg News agency.

"Clearly conditions are not there right now", White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. "I mean, we'll see".

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that military action is among the options he may consider to force Kim's regime to give up its nuclear ambitions.

In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

The US military says its controversial Thaad missile defence system is now operational in South Korea.

America has long since sought to put pressure on North Korea to stop its missile and nuclear tests that contravene United Nations sanctions - something Kim has ramped up under his leadership. It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of previous year.

North and South Korea have been at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended with truce but not a treaty, meaning technically they are still at war.