U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future.
Trump made the comments to reporters at the White House.
Trump -- who has made no secret of his wish to take control of Greenland, a Danish territory -- said Friday he would deal with the issue head-on.
"I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," Trump said at a White House meeting with oil executives.
Trump says controlling the mineral-rich island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.
