US ready to launch preemptive strike on North Korea: NBC News

The United States is prepared to launch a preemptive strike against North Korea should American officials become convinced that Pyongyang is going ahead with a nuclear weapons test, a report says.

Citing several senior US intelligence officials, NBC News reported on Thursday that the US military is ready to attack North Korea with conventional weapons if the country reaches for a nuclear trigger.

North Korea has announced that a "big event" is coming, and, according to US officials, Pyongyang could test a nuclear weapon as early as this weekend.

The officials told NBC News that the United States has deployed two destroyers capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles in the region.

According to the network, one of the destroyers is located 300 miles (about 483 kilometers) from the North Korean nuclear test site.

There are also US heavy bombers located in Guam. It was reported previously that the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group would be operating in the western Pacific Ocean close to the Korean Peninsula instead of partaking in a series of previously planned Australian port visits.

In a statement on Thursday, North Korea blamed the US for “driving the situation to the brink of a nuclear war” by deploying warships to the Korean Peninsula.

"By relentlessly bringing in a number of strategic nuclear assets to the Korean Peninsula, the US is gravely threatening the peace and safety and driving the situation to the brink of a nuclear war," the statement noted.

In an earlier statement, North Korea said that it was ready for “war” after the US deployed the strike group to the Korean Peninsula.

The North Korean state media announced that the country was “watching every move by enemy elements with our nuclear sight focused on the US invasionary bases not only in South Korea and the Pacific operation theater but also in the US mainland." 

Read More:

• Trump: North Korea is looking for trouble
• US, South Korean troops hold joint logistics drill
• We are ready for war: North Korea to US
• N Korea vows 'ruthless blow' if provoked by US

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump accused North Korea of "looking for trouble,” and said, "If China decides to help, that would be great…If not, we will solve the problem without them." 

Trump: North Korea will be taken care of

On Thursday, Trump reiterated that he has "great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea."

"If they are unable to do so, the US, with its allies, will! USA," the US president tweeted.

At the end of a White House event on Thursday afternoon, Trump said, "North Korea is a problem, the problem will be taken care of."

"I think China has really been working very hard. I’ve really gotten to like and respect, as you know, President Xi, terrific person, spent a lot of time together in Florida, he’s a very special man," he added. 

On April 5, North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan just days after it warned the global community of retaliation over sanctions.

In February, North Korea also simultaneously launched four ballistic missiles off its east coast, three of which landed close to Japan. In August, it also successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile some 500 kilometers off the coast of Japan, in a move which the North's leader Kim Jong-un hailed as the "greatest success."

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