In an unusual move, the entire US Senate has been called to the White House for a briefing on North Korea, amid escalating tensions over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests. The briefing, scheduled for Wednesday, will involve all 100 senators alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defence Secretary James Mattis, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, and General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
China, North Korea's main ally, has urged restraint from all sides. The call came during a phone conversation between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump on Sunday, with Xi urging parties to 'maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions'. Trump, meanwhile, said North Korea's 'continued belligerence' was destabilising the Korean peninsula.
Washington says a naval flotilla led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is expected to arrive off the Korean peninsula within days, despite conflicting reports last week about its location. North Korean state media has claimed its forces are 'combat-ready to sink' the carrier, with the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun calling it a 'gross animal'.
The US is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy: tightening UN sanctions, pressuring China to rein in its neighbour, and deploying military assets to signal that military action is an option. However, a North Korean ballistic missile test on 16 April failed seconds after launch, according to US experts.
Washington fears Pyongyang may soon develop the ability to place a nuclear warhead on a missile capable of reaching the US. Beijing, meanwhile, worries about all-out conflict on the peninsula, which could trigger a refugee crisis and bring US forces to its border.
