McCain: Premptive North Korea strike should be ‘very last option’

Sen. John McCain says President Donald Trump should consider a preemptive strike on North Korea if the country is able to deliver a nuclear weapon by ballistic missile, but only as a final option. "I think that we have to consider that option as the very last option," the Arizona Republican said Sunday in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

The Latest: Pope Francis calls for diplomacy, help of UN

The USS Carl Vinson is heading north toward the Korean peninsula in a show of force after satellite images suggested North Korea may b... . In this Tuesday, April 25, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer, left, is underway alongside the Republic o... .

N. Korean missile test fails hours after UN meeting on nukes

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley hold a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida and Korean Foreign Minister Yun at the United Nations, Friday, Friday, April 28, 2017. In this Tuesday, April 25, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer, left, is underway alongside the Republic of Korea multirole guided-missile destroyer Wang Geon during a bilateral exercise.

S.Korea says in talks to hold joint drills with US carrier strike group

South Korea said on Monday it was in talks with Washington about holding joint drills with the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group as it approaches waters off the Korean peninsula amid fears North Korea could conduct another nuclear test. South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun gave no further details other than saying Seoul was holding discussions with the US Navy.

New actor Trump heightens N. Korea drama: analysts

Geopolitical tensions flare every spring on the Korean peninsula, but analysts say the anxiety of recent weeks has been magnified by the unpredictable new player in the annual drama: Donald Trump. North Korea always intensifies its rhetoric when Seoul and Washington stage annual large-scale joint military drills that it condemns as rehearsals for a potential invasion.

The Latest: Pence promotes Trump’s economic plans in Japan

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence talks with members of the American Chamber of Commerce at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso, third right, attend during Japan U.S. Economic Dialogue at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

Us VP Pence assures Japan America is with ally a 100 per centa

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence looks at the North side from Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone , near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, South Korea, Monday, April 17, 2017. Viewing his adversaries in the distance, Pence traveled to the tense zone dividing North and South Korea and warned Pyongyang that after years of testing the U.S. and South Korea with its nuclear ambitions, "the era of strategic patience is over."

After North Koreaa s big parade, whata s next?

North Korea's big day, the anniversary of the birth of its founding leader, Kim Il Sung, came and went with no underground nuclear test by the North, and no pre-emptive strikes off the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier sent to waters off the Korean Peninsula by President Donald Trump. Just hours before Vice President Mike Pence began his visit to Seoul on Sunday, Pyongyang fired off a ballistic missile - but it appears to have exploded seconds after it got off the ground.

North Korean missile “blows up” on test launch as Pence…

SEOUL/PYONGYANG: A North Korean missile "blew up almost immediately" on its test launch on Sunday, the U.S. Pacific Command said, hours before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was due in South Korea for talks on the North's increasingly defiant arms programme. The failed launch from North Korea's east coast, ignoring admonitions from major ally China, came a day after North Korea held a military parade in its capital, marking the birth anniversary of the state founder, displaying what appeared to be new long-range ballistic missiles.

Global tensions continue to climb over North Korea

China says tension over North Korea has to be stopped from reaching an "irreversible and unmanageable stage". Concern has grown since the US Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week, in response to a deadly gas attack.

North Korean official: Pyongyang ready for war if Trump wants it

President Donald Trump's tweets are adding fuel to a "vicious cycle" of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea's vice foreign minister told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Friday. The official added that if the U.S. shows any sign of "reckless" military aggression, Pyongyang is ready to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own.

Why Trump Is Now Pressuring China and North Korea at the Same Timeby…

By diverting the USS Carl Vinson -led Carrier Strike Group 1, the President has signaled shift in U.S. strategy in the Pacific. t this moment, Carrier Strike Group 1 of the U.S. Navy, led by the USS Carl Vinson , was supposed to sailing from Singapore to Australia.

Donald Trump considering ‘full range of options to remove North Korean threat’

Los Angeles: The diversion of an armada of American warships from port visits in Australia to the waters off North Korea is designed to give US President Donald Trump a "full range of options" against dictator Kim Jong-un's regime. Mr Trump's national security adviser, General H.R. McMaster, and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, signalled on Sunday that the US was preparing to respond to North Korea's aggressive ramp up of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

U.S. Navy sends strike group toward Korean peninsula

A U.S. Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was making its way towards the Korean peninsula Sunday "to maintain readiness" as Kim Jong Un's regime in North Korea prepared to mark key anniversaries this coming week. North Korea is expected to hold a huge military parade on April 15 to celebrate the 105th birthday of its founding president, Kim Il Sung, and to mark the 85th anniversary of the creation of the Korean People's Army on April 25 with similar fanfare.

BC-AP News Digest 7 am

President Donald Trump, facing a fresh wave of questions about his ties to Russia, is signaling to advisers and allies that he believes the time has passed to strike a grand bargain with Moscow on Syria, Ukraine and nuclear arms control. By White House Correspondent Julie Pace.

North Korea fires unidentified missile as Japan, US leaders meet

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Pentagon Chief: US Has No Plans to Increase Mideast Forces

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday the U.S. cannot afford to ignore destabilizing moves by Iran, but has no plans to respond by increasing American military forces in the Middle East . Mattis spoke at a joint news conference in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada.