Japanese Ships Join US 'Armada' En Route to Korean Peninsula, N Korea ready to strike aircraft carrier

Photo: US Navy

North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, as two Japanese navy ships joined a U.S. carrier group for exercises in the western Pacific.

Two Japanese destroyers have joined an American aircraft carrier headed toward the Korean peninsula.

The Japanese warships, the Samidare and Ashigara, left western Japan Friday to join the Carl Vinson. The vessels of the two countries began joint exercises Sunday in the Western Pacific.

The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which includes a guided-missile cruiser and a guided missile destroyer, was diverted from its trip to Australia by U.S. President Donald Trump, as tensions rise in the Korean peninsula over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear tests.

It was not immediately clear how long the Japanese destroyers would sail alongside...