North Korea has warned it's prepared to sink an American aircraft carrier, as Japanese navy vessels joined a US armada for routine exercises in the western Pacific.

Tensions continue to rise between North Korea and the US as Kim Jong-Un continues his missile testing. 

President Trump recently warned North Korea it has "gotta behave" as the US agreed to the early deployment of a missile defense system in the region.

Meanwhile, Trump previously said that the US carrier was heading towards North Korea last week, when in fact, the ships were conducting exercises in the Indian Ocean. 

The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group has since been ordered to head towards the Korean Peninsula as tensions rose over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions.

US vice-president Mike Pence said it should arrive "within days" after it carried out a short training exercise with Australian forces.

Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, responded saying "Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a US nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike."

It later added that the strike would be "an actual example to show our military's force" and called the aircraft carrier a "gross animal".

Joint exercise 

Two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers left Sasebo port in southern Japan on Friday to join the USS Carl Vinson strike group, which also includes a guided-missile cruiser and a guided-missile destroyer.

The joint exercises, which have been described as "routine" by Tokyo, were expected to last up to several days.

Pyongyang warned it will respond to any US aggression and has threatened to lay waste to South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has also threatened a nuclear strike on Canberra after urging Australia to think twice before "blindly and zealously toeing the US line".

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said after Mr Pence's visit to Australia that "If Australia persists in following the US' moves to isolate and stifle North Korea... this will be a suicidal act."

Additional reporting from IRN.