After North Korea's latest nuclear test this week, the responses from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were starkly different.
Clinton, the former secretary of State under President Obama, released a detailed statement on Friday, calling the action by North Korea "outrageous and unacceptable."
"I strongly condemn this reckless action, which �� coupled with its recent series of missile launches �� makes clear Pyongyang's determination to develop a deliverable nuclear weapon," she said, alluding to four previous nuclear tests.
"This constitutes a direct threat to the United States, and we cannot and will never accept this," she said.
As Clinton voiced staunch support for Obama's call to strengthen United Nations sanctions against the country, the Trump campaign had a different message: Clinton and Obama are not strong leaders.
"North Korea's fifth nuclear test, the fourth since Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, is yet one more example of Hillary Clinton's catastrophic failures," said Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump. "Clinton promised to work to end North Korea's nuclear program as secretary of state, yet the program has only grown in strength and sophistication."
Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, said on CBS that if Trump becomes president and North Korea fired ballistic rockets, he "wouldn't do what's done now." She added that if Trump is elected, North Korea will know that the Americans "aren't messing around."
Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who received his first national security briefing on Friday, ignored questions about North Korea.
In May, Trump, who has no foreign policy experience, said that he would be open to allowing neighbors of North Korea such as South Korea and Japan to build nuclear arsenals.
"If they're not going to take care of us properly, we cannot afford to be the military and the police for the world," he said on CNN at the time, discussing U.S. armed forces stationed in Japan and South Korea and whether those nations should be able to build nuclear weapons.
