The USS Carl Vinson will be joined by the Ashigara and Samidare destroyers in "tactical training" drills near the Philippines, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force said.

North Korea's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial the country is ready to illustrate its "military force" by sinking a "nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike."

The state newspaper claimed to have weaponry which "can reach continental US and Asia Pacific region" and the "absolute weapon," hydrogen bomb.

In the face of recent saber-rattling from North Korea, US President Donald Trump had said the Vinson carrier group was being deployed to waters off the Korean Peninsula
The location of the Vinson has dominated headlines after Trump's remark on April 12.