US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats described North Korea on Wednesday as "an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority". The US signal of a willingness to exhaust non-military avenues came as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group approached Korean waters, where it will join the USS Michigan nuclear submarine. North Korea, which conducted its biggest ever artillery exercise to mark the 85th anniversary of its military's creation on Tuesday, says it needs to develop weapons to defend itself from US aggression. (AP) -
This image made from video of a still image broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, shows what was said to be a "Combined Fire Demonstration" held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this photo. (KRT via AP Video)
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North Korea on Tuesday marked the 85th anniversary of the founding of its military by deploying a large number of long-range artillery units on its east coast for a live-fire drill. (AP)
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North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) made available on April 26, 2017. (Reuters)
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A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) made available on April 26, 2017. (Reuters)
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North Korea conducted a big live-fire exercise to mark the foundation of its military and a US submarine docked in South Korea in a show of force amid growing concern over the North's nuclear and missile programmes. (Reuters)
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North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un supervised the display and gave the order to start the fire demonstration. (Reuters)
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North Korea was defiant, saying its military was prepared "to bring to closure the history of U.S. scheming and nuclear blackmail". "There is no limit to the strike power of the People's Army armed with our style of cutting-edge military equipment, including various precision and miniaturised nuclear weapons and submarine-launched ballistic missiles," the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a front-page editorial. (Reuters)
