Korean crisis: Trump '˜sends in three aircraft carriers'

Three American aircraft carriers will enter the Sea of '‹'‹Japan next week, South Korean media has reported.

A warplane prepares to launch from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Picture: AFP/US navy/MCSA

In a sign of rapidly escalating diplomatic tension, the South Korean Yonhap news agency, citing a source close to the country’s government, said the USS Carl Vinson, USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz had been directed towards the Korean peninsula.

The reports come after military forces in South Korea and the US announced on Sunday that they had recorded a failed test launch of a ballistic missile from Pyongyang.

And on Friday, North Korean staff threatened to destroy US warships in the event of an attack.

The Carl Vinson, which is accompanied by a strike force of warships including destroyers, received orders to sail to the Korean peninsula in early April.

The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, has called on North Korea to refrain from further provocative action, comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and give up its programme of acquiring missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated as President Donald Trump adopted strong rhetoric against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Abe has indicated he will discuss North Korea with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting later this month.