Seoul: North Korea holds drill to mark anniversary

Instead of an anticipated nuclear or long-range missile test, Pyongyang conducted a large-scale exercise involving hundreds of artillery pieces placed near its east coast on Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported citing the South's military.

North Korea marked Tuesday's anniversary of the founding of its military with artillery drills, celebrations that took place as a U.S. guided missile submarine docked in South Korea and U.S. Navy ships conducted exercises with South Korea and Japan.

"Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military's movements and remains firmly prepared", a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says, CNN reports.

US, China and Japan discussing possibility of nuclear test on day of last event for North Korean seasonal calendar Predictions of a sixth nuclear test around the 85th anniversary of the North Korean People's Army's foundation on April 25 are generating a sense of urgency in other countries involved in Korean Peninsula issues.

South Korea and the U.S. are watching North Korea to see if conducts a sixth nuclear test or launches another ballistic missile test, in defiance of United Nations sanctions, to mark the occasion. "People put blindfolds on for decades and now it's time to solve the problem".

The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-affiliated newspaper known for its nationalist views, said North Korea stands to lose the most in a conflict.

From left to right, USA special representative for North Korea policy Joseph Yun, Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kenji Kanasugi, and special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the South Korean Foreign Ministry Kim Hong-kyun, pose for photographers before their meeting about North Korean issues at the Iikura Guesthouse in Tokyo, April 25, 2017.

"More pressure will only convince the North Korean leadership that they need to continue to develop their nuclear program".

The Michigan's call on South Korea came amid mounting tensions on the peninsula.

The North is also believed to be preparing for a sixth nuclear weapons test.

The nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine arrived at Busan in what was described as a routine port visit to rest the crew and load supplies.

American officials briefed the visiting Security Council diplomats at the White House, and the administration said senators will attend a classified briefing there on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Trump held phone conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping to coordinate action over North Korea.

"We view this as reflective of the atmosphere within China that it no longer views North Korea as a strategic asset but as a liability". It was held in Wonsan, a port city in the country's eastern region.

In addition to holding joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea, the United States and South Korea have been staging military maneuvers in Pocheon, northeast of Seoul, demonstrating some of their latest weapons.

Wu Dawei, China's envoy on North Korea, is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Tuesday for a four-day visit, Japan's foreign ministry said.

China is a traditional ally of North Korea and fought on its side in the 1950-53 Korean War.

According to the US Navy's Submarine Force Pacific website, the USS Michigan carries more than 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

China is North Korea's sole major ally but disapproves of the North's weapons programmes and has supported United Nations sanctions against it.

Two Japanese destroyers have joined the US carrier group for exercises and South Korea said it was in talks about holding joint naval drills.

North Korea "can literally set a considerable part of South Korea on fire", said Sim Tack, an analyst with Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence company, in a recent interview.