Time to remove 'blindfolds'; U.N. must ready new North Korea sanctions - Trump

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump faces a news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the U.N. Security Council must be prepared to impose new sanctions on North Korea, amid escalating tensions over its missile and nuclear programs, saying people had acted as if "blindfolded" for decades on a big problem that finally needed to be solved.

"The status quo in North Korea is also unacceptable," Trump told a meeting of U.N. Security Council ambassadors at the White House, held at a time of mounting concern that North Korea may be preparing a sixth nuclear bomb test.