Jan. 12 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States will take Greenland "one way or another, and Europe is stepping up in defense of the island nation.

Trump has said that the United States must control the territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from taking it.

"I am not going to let that happen," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday.

But the United States and Denmark are both part of NATO. It's also rich in minerals.

Related