John Kelly: No Comment on Whether Trump Has Talked to NKorea's Kim

White House chief of staff John Kelly would not comment on whether President Donald Trump has spoken with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but admitted he hopes war does not break out on the Korean peninsula.

Kelly told Fox News' Bret Baier that Kim has to be dealt with in one way or another.

"I hope not," Kelly said flatly, when asked if the United States is headed for war with North Korea. "This is one of those things that landed on this president's lap. We have kicked the can down the road. The problem at this point in time is there's no road left. We have to deal with this guy."

Kim and his regime are pursing a nuclear arsenal and have conducted several ballistic missile and nuclear tests in recent years. Things seem to be softening a bit now that North and South Korea have agreed to march as a unified team at the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics Opening Ceremony, but Kelly said the nuclear issue still needs to be resolved.

When asked directly if Trump has spoken with Kim, Kelly preferred not to comment.

"There are open channels, but I would prefer not to comment," he said. "There are a lot of people trying to help out here. The president calls numerous national leaders, the Chinese as an example, on a regular basis. Japan, Korea, others on a regular basis. Our ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, works that very, very hard and has gotten some great folks in the security counsel."

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