Hawaii threatened by North Korea now, U.S. commander tells Congress

President Trump, who has been urging China to apply pressure to North Korea and to act if Beijing doesn't, convened congressional lawmakers Wednesday to brief them on the "very grave threat" posed by Pyongyang.

"Michael Pregent, a former US Army Intelligence Officer, told Fox News that some of the missiles held by soldiers during Pyongyang's April 15 military parade 'This was more about sending a message than being combat effective", he said.

TRT World's Shamim Chowdhury has more on the tensions in the Korean peninsula.

Concerns have been raised over whether North Korea is developing a nuclear-armed missile that could strike the US.

Despite the USA administration's emphasis on a peaceful resolution, the US's top commander in the Asia-Pacific region, told a congressional hearing that its new missile defence system would be operative in days.

"There're so many options that we need to be taking that are a long ways away from a strike", he said, adding that diplomatic steps should include "secondary sanctions on Chinese individuals, entities and companies that are doing business with the North Korean regime".

"It was a sobering briefing in which it was clear just how much thought and planning was going into preparing military options, if called for, and a diplomatic strategy that strikes me as clear-eyed and well proportioned", Coons said. "We want to bring Kim Jong Un to his senses, not to his knees", the commander said.

The U.S. says it will only target North Korean missiles, but China and Russian Federation see the system's powerful radars as a security threat.

"In the United States and on both sides of the Korean De-Militarized Zone, the absence of a binding peace accord fuels fear and economic deprivation caused by diverting public resources in preparation for war, including deploying the controversial THAAD missile defense system in South Korea".

In recent days, North Korea has threatened to sink the approaching U.S. carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, which is finally expected to arrive in the waters off the peninsula by the end of the month, and to "cut the windpipe of USA imperialists" with an almighty sword. His spokesman, Mark Toner, said Wednesday that another tactic is getting nations around the world to close down North Korean embassies and consulates, or suspending them from global organizations.

South Korea on Wednesday moved parts of a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system to its deployment site, on what had been a golf course, about 250 km (155 miles) south of the capital, Seoul, signaling a faster installation of the system. "One of these days soon, he will succeed".

He has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to hit the United States with a nuclear missile.

At a House Armed Services Committee, Harris rejected reports that the Carl Vinson group is vulnerable to North Korean attacks.

A statement from the North's propaganda rag, the Rodong Sinmun, slammed the U.S. for deploying the Carl Vinson and fighter planes to the region, accusing them of blackmail. "The Chinese side strongly urges the US and South Korea to cancel the deployment and withdraw the equipment".

US troops in South Korea began on Wednesday deploying a contentious anti-missile system in South Korea that has infuriated China.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Wednesday that the system's deployment would "disrupt the regional strategic balance and further aggravate the tension on the peninsula". The Carl Vinson is headed that direction after initial confusion earlier this month about the location of the carrier. Kishida, together with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other representatives, is expected to call on the worldwide community to stand united behind sanctions on North Korea.