"North Korea regularly threatens to destroy South Korea, the United States and Japan. The state department said on Tuesday he was not carrying any message from Washington.South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit China next Wednesday for a summit with his counterpart Xi Jinping, Seoul's presidential Blue House said. North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile capability would top the agenda, it said.The military exercises, called "Vigilant Ace", are designed to enhance joint readiness and operational capability of US extended deterrence, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.North Korea has vehemently criticised the drills since the weekend, saying the exercise precipitates US and South Korean "self-destruction".China and Russia had proposed that the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programmes. China is North Korea's lone major ally and fears widespread instability on its border.Russia also has communication channels open with North Korea and is ready to exert its influence, the RIA news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov as saying on Tuesday.North Korea has tested dozens of ballistic missiles, two of which flew over Japan, and conducted its sixth and largest nuclear bomb test in September.It says its weapons programmes are a necessary defence against US plans to invade. The United States, which has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, denies any such intention.

Source: Times of India December 06, 2017 10:43 UTC