USS Carl Vinson

The US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and other warships started joint exercises with Japan on April 23, the American navy said, as regional tensions rise over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

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 White House stood by President Donald Trump's recent talk of a Navy strike force on its way to the Korean peninsula, after the USS Carl Vinson was spotted thousands of miles away, headed in the opposite direction. The fleet has since turned around.

China has warned the US against using military force against North Korea, after a surprise redeployment of an aircraft carrier group. Washington's regional allies said they expect it to consult with them before any action.

North Korea denounced the U.S. deployment of a naval strike group to the region on April 11, warning it is ready for "war" as Washington tightens the screws on the nuclear-armed state.

The strike group - which includes the Nimitz-class aircraft supercarrier USS Carl Vinson - cancelled a planned trip to Australia this weekend to head to the Korean peninsula in a show of force.  

The U.S. Navy said on April 8 that it had sent a carrier-led strike group to the Korean peninsula in a show of force against North Korea's "reckless" nuclear weapons program.

A United States aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols in the South China Sea amid growing tension with China over control of the disputed waterway and concerns it could become a flashpoint under the new U.S. administration.

China's Foreign Ministry on Feb. 15 warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

Ignoring repeated warnings from Beijing not to aggravate tensions in Southeast Asia, the US Navy has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group for "routine" maritime patrols in the vicinity of the disputed South China Sea waters.