United States vice president discusses Korean Peninsula with Australian PM

Under the deal, agreed with former President Barack Obama late previous year, the United States would resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in offshore processing camps on South Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

That anniversary comes less than two weeks after the North staged a massive military parade in Pyongyang to celebrate the 105th anniversary of founder Kim Il Sung's birth.

The destroyers will "practice a variety of tactics" with the USA strike group, the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (MSDF) said in a statement.

But the US Navy, which had earlier said the aircraft carrier would sail north from waters off Singapore as a "prudent measure" to deter the regime, admitted Tuesday the ships were in fact sent away from Singapore and towards Australia to conduct drills with the Australian navy.

North Korea has responded that it is not afraid of the US forces.

US President Donald Trump earlier said the USS Carl Vinson led the "armada" heading for North Korea in response to the missile tests conducted by the hermit state.

"Our expectation is that they will be in the Sea of Japan, in position, in a matter of days, before the end of this month", Pence said during a joint news conference in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

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Trump supported Britain's decision to leave the European Union and has previously said he expected other countries to do the same. To a question on his visit to Italy this summer to attend the G-7 Summit, he said he looks forward to meeting Pope Francis.

The aircraft carrier will arrive in waters near the Korean peninsula early next week. "We have submarines. Very powerful".

The voyage from Singapore to the Sea of Japan was speculated as taking more than a week. The U.S. group also includes a guided-missile cruiser and a guided-missile destroyer.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy said Friday that a Carl Vinson fighter pilot safely ejected during training in the Celebes Sea and was rescued by a helicopter without suffering injuries.

The White House has denied that it offered misleading information on the whereabouts of the Vinson.

Pence, who is on the final leg of his Asia tour, also told media that he believes a nuclear-free Korean peninsula is possible because of the Trump administration's "engagement" with China.

With the accident occurring some 3,800 km from Pyongyang, U.S. Navy officials said that Carl Vinson should be arriving in the Korean Peninsula some time next week.