US President Donald Trump has addressed the difficulties of resolving the crisis on the Korean Peninsula diplomatically. Tensions in the region are growing as Trump toughens his rhetoric toward Pyongyang.
"We'd love to solve things diplomatically but it's very difficult," he told Reuters in the Oval Office, saying that North Korea remained his most significant global challenge.
His comments came the same day China's foreign ministry warned that the situation on the peninsula could escalate. Trump's administration has been pressuring Beijing, Pyongyang's most important ally, to do more to reel in its belligerent neighbor in recent weeks.
"I believe he is trying very hard," Trump said of Chinese President Xi Jinping during the interview. "I know he would like to be able to do something. Perhaps it's possible that he can't. But I think he'd like to be able to do something."
US sets on diplomacy in N.Korea dispute
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'Sobering' briefing on N. Korea
On Wednesday, Washington announced that it was making a concerted effort to engage its international partners to pressure the North Korean regime "to de-escalate and return to the path of dialogue."
Earlier that day, the Trump administration held an hour-long classified briefing on North Korea for all 100 senators. One Democratic leader described the meeting, which outlined Pyongyang's increasing nuclear capabilities, as "sobering."
Ahead of the meeting, the head of the US's Pacific forces said the controversial THAAD missile system, which was deployed earlier in the month, would be operational within days. He said any North Korean missile fired at US forces would be destroyed: "If it flies, it will die."
South Korea and US forces hold live-fire drill
Around 2,000 South Korean and US troops have taken part in a joint military manoeuvre. This comes after North Korea announced it had conducted its "largest-ever" live-fire drill.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Border control
South Korean Army soldiers rappel down during a South Korea-U.S. joint military live-fire drill at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Dummy targets
In Pocheon, 65 kilometers northeast of Seoul, South Korea’s self-propelled guns, as well as multiple rocket launchers, fired off dozens of volleys toward mock targets.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Stepping up preparation
South Korean K1A2 tanks fire live rounds at a training field near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. Some 100 artillery pieces, 90 armoured vehicles and 50 aircraft, as well as 2,000 South Korean and US troops, the defence ministry said.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Missile defense
The US has begun deploying parts of the controversial Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system at its site in South Korea. THAAD is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight. The US and South Korea are deploying the missile system in response to the ongoing development of North Korea's ballistic missile program.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Scott/Department Of Defense
Saber-rattling in North Korea
On the other side of the border in North Korea, leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw the country's largest-ever firing drill, which saw more than 300 large-calibre self-propelled guns firing simultaneously and torpedo attacks by submarines, state-run KCNA agency said.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Anniversary 'celebrations'
The drill marked the 85th anniversary of the founding of the North Korea's armed forces, and heightened international worries that it may be preparing another nuclear test.
