US President Donald Trump will tell leaders on a five-nation Asia tour the world is "running out of time" on North Korea's nuclear crisis and that he will give his strategy to isolate Pyongyang a few months before making adjustments, a top aide has said.
Mr Trump leaves today for Hawaii, the first stop en route to Asia where he will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
It will be the longest Asian tour by an American president in more than 25 years.
A possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Trump at an APEC summit in Vietnam later this month is also being discussed, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Moscow did not rule out such a meeting taking place.
Mr Trump's goal on the Asian tour will be to increase international support in an effort to deprive North Korea of resources as leverage to coerce it to give up nuclear weapons.
"The president recognises that we're running out of time (to deal with North Korea) and will ask all nations to do more," White House national security adviser HR McMaster told reporters at a briefing.
South Korea's spy agency told politicians yesterday that North Korea may be planning a new missile test, after brisk activity was spotted at its research facilities.
The US military is keeping a close eye on North Korea, which conducted its last missile test on 15 Sepember and its sixth and largest nuclear test on 3 September.
Two Guam-based US B-1B bombers flew through South Korean airspace and over the country's Pilsung Range in an exercise yesterday, the US Air Force said.
"The bilateral continuous bomber presence mission was planned in advance and was not in response to any current event," the Air Force said in a statement.
Mr McMaster said President Trump would urge countries with the most influence over Pyongyang to "convince its leaders that the pursuit of nuclear weapons is a dead end" and that it must denuclearise.
"And he will remind friend and foe alike that the United States stands ready to defend itself and our allies using the full range of our capabilities," said Mr McMaster.
China will be perhaps Mr Trump's most critical stop in Asia. There he will ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to do more to rein in North Korea.
Senior US officials say China considers North Korea a strategic asset and is reluctant to cut off resources to Pyongyang for fear of triggering a refugee wave.
