S. Korea installs parts of contentious US missile defense

North Korea on April 25, marked a military anniversary with a conventional firing drill, reports said, as South Korea announced joint naval exercises with a U.S. aircraft carrier amid tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

"The United States hopes that China can be like a magician managing Pyongyang's nuclear activities, while Pyongyang hopes that Beijing will apply its pressure against the threat of war from the United States and South Korea".

Meanwhile, the South Korea-U.S. alliance has beefed up its naval presence thanks to new deployments from the American Navy. An official from Seoul's Defense Ministry couldn't confirm such details.

The administration has settled on a strategy emphasizing increased pressure on North Korea with the help of China, rather than trying to overthrow Kim Jong Un's isolated government or use military force.

However, it has become increasingly concerned as tensions rise in the flashpoint region, with experts warning of the possibility of a sixth nuclear test by the North.

Some analysts voiced concerns Trump was backing himself into a corner with his fierce rhetoric on North Korea, leading both countries to a point where "bad things are going to happen".

McCain said Trump is "exploring all options" on North Korea.

"Statements that feed hatred and polarisation do nothing but undermine opportunities to improve the dire situation of ordinary North Koreans".

That entire calculus could change quickly depending on events on the ground - and on the decisions of the two countries' mercurial leaders, Trump and Kim Jong Un.

A White House readout of the call said Trump criticized North Korea's "continued belligerence" and the leaders "reaffirmed the urgency of the threat".

America has sent an aircraft carrier group and nuclear submarine to the region, while North Korea has been attempting more missile launches - defying United Nations sanctions. The deployment was announced more than two weeks ago.

In addition, the American nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine USS Michigan arrived at the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday, . the presence of which is meant to further deter North Korea from conducting any provocations.

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group is also expected to arrive in the waters off the Korean peninsula in the next few days.

Here is the most frightening thing you'll read all day: Growing numbers of United States intelligence officials believe North Korea can produce a new nuclear bomb every six or seven weeks.

The advice comes as prefectural disaster and crisis officials held a meeting in Tokyo last week where they were urged to make additional plans to establish their own response teams and plans.

But instead of a nuclear test or big missile launch, North Korea deployed a large number of long-range artillery units in the region of Wonsan on its east coast for a live-fire drill, South Korea's military said. A US submarine also stopped in a South Korean port, marking Washington's latest show of force in the region.

"North Korea is looking for trouble", the president tweeted this month.

"The consequences could be extremely high", she said, warning that China could intervene.

These particular war drums may be sounding a familiar beat to Americans who heard similar ultimatums, justifications, and leaked classified intelligence in the months before the USA invasion of Iraq in 2003.

State-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun said over the weekend in an editorial the country could sink a "nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike".

Pak Yong Sik, a senior military official, stated North Korea's nuclear weapons are "on standby at all times" and that "all USA imperialist bases in the Asia-Pacific are within range".

A North Korean KN-08 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICMB) is paraded across Kim Il-sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang nearly two weeks ago.

Lawmakers, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans, also have said the early months of his presidency have been marked by a lack of communication with Congress, partly because the administration has been slow to fill key posts and partly because Trump has been slow to develop policy positions.