Outwardly, there are few signs of concern in North Korea despite the political back and forth.
With a U.S. aircraft carrier group steaming to the area and tension rising, South Korea said it believed the United States would consult it before any pre-emptive strike against the North.
"We've got a powerful nuclear deterrent already in our hands, and we certainly will not keep our arms crossed in the face of a USA pre-emptive strike", he said.
Speaking through an interpreter provided by the foreign ministry, Mr Han was calm and polite but forceful throughout the 40-minute interview.
Han cited Trump's tweets as problematic, as well as the US military's participation in exercises with South Korea and an aircraft carrier's move to the region.
US administration officials said final decisions on specific sanctions targets have yet to made, but they privately expressed doubts about how much further Beijing is willing to go to bring its defiant ally to heel - in spite of increasing Chinese concerns that North Korea might soon conduct a sixth nuclear test or new missile launches.
Although officials in South Korea said the United States would never attack the North without first consulting the South Korean government, a confluence of events in the last week has led some people to fear that the Trump administration might launch military strikes against the North's nuclear and missile facilities. "At a time and at a place where the headquarters deems necessary, it will take place".
Trump said on Tuesday that North Korea was "looking for trouble" and Washington would "solve the problem" with or without China's help.
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"Pyongyang may assume that atomic bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles are the keys to ensuring national and political security, but this is wrong", the Global Times argued, further commenting that the worldwide community, China included, will not stand idly by while North Korea tests increasingly-powerful nuclear weapons.
In addition to warning North Korea against continued provocations, China also warned the US against using military action.
A US satellite captured activities that appeared to be preparation for a nuclear test in Punggyeri, North Hamkyong.
"Trump is always making provocations with his aggressive words", Mr Han said.
The annual military exercises have consistently infuriated the North, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion. Washington and Seoul deny that, but reports that exercises have included "decapitation strikes" aimed at the North's leadership have fanned Pyongyang's anger.
"I think he's going to try very hard".
"Whatever comes from the United States, we will cope with it. We are fully prepared to handle it".
"There's a whole host of things that are possible, all the way up to what's essentially a trade quarantine on North Korea", the official told Reuters on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It will not make any difference", the Global Times, an outlet affiliated with the state-run People's Daily, the paper of the ruling Communist Party, wrote Thursday.
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