US President Donald Trump has scheduled telephone conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a White House official said, amid heightened tensions surrounding North Korea….<\/b>
US President Donald Trump has scheduled telephone conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a White House official said, amid heightened tensions surrounding North Korea. The topics of the Sunday-night (Monday morning, Hong Kong time) conversations, which were abruptly added to Trump\u2019s agenda, were not announced. But they come as Pyongyang is thought to be preparing to conduct further test-firings of missiles or a sixth nuclear test, possibly on the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People\u2019s Army on Tuesday. Trump and his senior officials have said that all options, including military action, are \u201con the table\u201d in dealing with North Korea\u2019s pursuit of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, which violates UN Security Council resolutions. The White House will also hold a briefing for senators with its \u201cfour principals\u201d on North Korea as the administration considers its options for dealing with Pyongyang. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend the meeting planned for April 26, the White House said in an advance schedule. Over the weekend, North Korea detained a US citizen who\u2019 d been teaching at a university there as he was leaving the country, according to media reports that cited officials with the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang. Three Americans are now being held in the isolated nation. \u201cWe are aware of reports that a US citizen was detained in North Korea, \u201d a State Department official said in a brief statement. \u201cIn cases where US citizens are reported to be detained in North Korea, we work with the Swedish Embassy, which serves as the United States\u2019 Protecting Power in North Korea. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.\u201d Trump said on April 20 he was confident China is working \u201cvery hard\u201d to defuse tensions with North Korea. North Korea on Sunday said it was ready to sink a US aircraft carrier to show its military strength, Reuters reported, citing North Korea\u2019s state-run. The USS Carl Vinson is heading to the Western Pacific to conduct drills with two Japanese destroyers amid heightened tensions over the North\u2019s missile tests. Vice-President Mike Pence said during a visit to Sydney this weekend that all options are \u201con the table\u201d for the US. Pence is winding up a 10-day trip to Asia and the Pacific in which he has regularly criticised North Korea. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Sunday\u2019s on CBS that while North Korea poses mostly a cyber threat to the U. S. today, that could change. \u201cThe instant they get a missile that can reach the United States, and they have a weaponised atomic device, nuclear device on it, we\u2019 re at grave risk as a nation, \u201d he said.<\/p>\n