China's air force has put its land-attack, cruise-missile-capable bombers "on high alert" in response to a potential situation in North Korea, a U.S. defence official has been quoted as saying.
"North Korea needs to realize don't give us a reason and we won't have a reason to fight".
Pence arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday from South Korea and reassured Japan of USA commitment to reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions in a series of meetings with Japanese leaders, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Russian Federation has derailed a proposed UN Security Council statement that would have condemned North Korea's latest missile launch test, using its veto to torpedo the motion.
President Trump has sent a US Navy strike group to the Korean peninsula while also using his Twitter account to claim North Korea is "looking for trouble".
He leveled sharp criticism at the US and South Korea for conducting the war games of unprecedented scope and scale and said they could entail dire consequences for peace in the region.
Pyongyang has promised to continue building its "nuclear deterrant" to prepare for any perceived or real attacks, adding that Trump's administration was "more vicious and more aggressive" than the administration under former President Barack Obama.
Egypt declares state of emergency after IS church bombings kill 44
During a visit to Egypt last month, Merkel toured a Cairo church that had been the site of a previous bombing in December. Christians in Minya have lived in constant fear of attacks from the area's large Salafi Muslim population .
The U.S. Navy said on Tuesday the carrier, USS Carl Vinson, was heading toward the Korean Peninsula, but only after it passes through Australia.
US Vice President Mike Pence, on a tour of Asian allies, has said repeatedly the "era of strategic patience" with North Korea is over.
South Korea's Defense Ministry also confirmed on Thursday that the US and South Korean Air Forces are conducting an annual training exercise - codenamed Max Thunder - until April 28.
The US is seeing evidence that the Chinese military is preparing for a potential North Korea contingency, a US defense official told CNN Thursday.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop urged China on Thursday to do more to help out in the global effort to pressure and persuade North Korea to stop escalating nuclear and missile threat.
The following day, Trump tweeted that he "had a very good call last night with the President of China concerning the menace of North Korea", But Xi in Beijing said that he had urged Trump to seek a "peaceful solution".
Speaking with reporters on his way to the Middle East, Mattis said the most recent test was not an intercontinental ballistic missile but still a reckless move.
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