North Korea and the US continue to flex their military muscle as fears mount that Kim Jong-un will launch a nuclear weapons test that could spark World War Three. Here is the latest news and updates on the North Korea-US tension.
Kim Jong-un’s regime has conducted a massive live-fire drill as tensions grow with the US.
Donald Trump has deployed an “armada” of submarines and a missile defence system in South Korea in response to the growing threat of Kim’s nuclear programme.
North Korea has warned that is is “ready to react to any mode of war desired by the US”, and is said to be “primed and ready” to launch a nuclear weapons test.
As fears grow that World War Three could be imminent, here is the latest news and live updates on North Korea.
The US military is deploying its Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system in South Korea.
Parts of the system arrived in military vehicles and were met with protests from hundred of local residents.
China has warned that THAAD will do nothing to deter Kim Jong-un and will only destabilise regional security. It has urged the US and South Korea to withdraw the system.
Seoul’s defence ministry said in a statement: "South Korea and the United States have been working to secure an early operational capability of the THAAD system in response to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threat.”
It added that the system is not expected to be operational until the end of 2018.
Elsewhere, a joint US-South Korea military training drill saw tanks firing live rounds near to the Demilitarized Zone.
The exercise will last for 11 days and will involve aircraft carriers, fighter jets and military operations.
Later today, all 100 members of the US Senate will visit the White House for a briefing on North Korea, Press Secretary Sean Spicer has confirmed.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will give an update on the growing tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
North Korea has conducted a live-fire drill after a guided-missile US submarine arrived at a South Korean dock.
The exercise coincided with the 85th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s army and involved between 300 and 400 long-range artillery pieces capable of hitting Seoul, according to the Yonhap news agency.
Earlier, the USS Michigan docked at Busan in South Korea in the latest show of force from Donald Trump’s administration.
The US has officially called the submarine visit a “routine” stop, but its timing has not gone unnoticed.
Kim Jong-un’s despotic regime has threatened to launch a sixth nuclear test in response to the US military’s recent shows of force.
It was thought that the test would take place yesterday to coincide with the military anniversary, but reports now suggest that Kim is delaying his plans because of South Korea’s upcoming presidential election, which takes place on May 9.
Zhou Chenming, from the Knowfar Institute for Strategic and Defence Studies, said: “Kim would prefer a moderate candidate to be elected because he or she would be easier to deal with.”
Satellite images released earlier this month have shown that North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site is “primed and ready”.
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