(Natural News) The Trump administration has repeatedly said the era of seeking a diplomatic solution to North Korea's ongoing efforts to build nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them globally are over.

That can only mean one thing: A decision to strike the isolationist regime could come at any moment, should President Donald J. Trump and his senior military commanders decide they can no longer wait for someone else to solve the problem.

In recent days, Trump – along with Vice President Mike Pence, who traveled to South Korea on Sunday for talks that could have included military options – have expressed hope that China would step up to help rein in its belligerent neighbor, but this no longer appears possible. Bloomberg News reported Monday that a pair of Chinese officials sent to warn leader Kim Jong-un of the seriousness of the situation were summarily snubbed by his regime:

Pyongyang didn't respond to requests from China Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Wu Dawei, the country's top envoy for North Korean nuclear affairs, to meet with their North Korean counterparts, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. The overtures came after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Florida, the people said.

In a separate report, Bloomberg News said Trump was willing to consider a "sudden strike" against North Korea, following its failed missile launch over the weekend. (RELATED: North Korea missile launch fails as Trump pledges to strike nuclear sites)

The president was said to be considering a "kinetic" response – a common term for military action – as a way to deal with the North's nuclear weapons program. According to a source who spoke with Bloomberg on condition of anonymity, Trump's continued preference is for China to take the lead in diffusing North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

"This is someone who has demonstrated his brutality by murdering his own brother, by murdering others in his family, by imprisoning large numbers of people in horrible conditions for no reason, for political reasons," McMaster of Kim, in an interview on ABC News' "This Week."  "So this regime has given the world reason for concern. And that includes — that includes the Chinese people and the Chinese leadership as well."

As for Pyongyang, the president has not expressed any interest in so-called "regime change," and is not looking to reunite both Koreas. Rather, the source said, the president prefers that they cooperate over the long term, which is pretty much in line with longstanding U.S. policy.