North Korea continues to incite fears of World War 3 among the international community despite signs of positive development during diplomatic talks with Seoul.
Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said President Trump plans to keep up pressure on dictator Kim Jong-un by deploying supercarrier USS Carl Vinson to the Korean peninsula.
He explained the power move was designed to deter Pyongyang from testing weapons during Winter Olympics scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang in February.
Mr Bolton said: “People were worried that this kind of global concentration on South Korea might provoke the North Koreans into some kind of incident. A missile launch, a nuclear test or something like that.
“This was intended to say ‘don’t even think about it.’ But all the more reason to have it there now.”
The USS Carl Vinson set sail for the Korean peninsula last week accompanied by guided-missile destroyers and warships, reaching waters near Kim Jong-un’s rogue state before the opening ceremony of South Korea’s PyeongChang Olympics.
The games will begin on February 8 with the opening ceremony set to take place the next day.
Mr Bolton also warned against North Korea’s “propaganda” decision to accept meeting South Korean officials to discuss a possible truce.
He told Fox News: “I think what the North Koreans have done, in a classic move, is to try a propaganda ploy.
“Now people are rhapsodising about joint Olympic teams and marching under the same flag but for the ruling party in South Korea, this is deja-vu. All of this has zero to do with the nuclear issue.
“What it does for North Korea is give them a propaganda victory and diverge people’s attention.”
Kim Jong-un has refused to abandon his nuclear programme despite pressure from the United States, leading to World War 3 fears.
President Trump has been trying to ramp up pressure on the rogue state to put a stop to Kim Jong-un’s nuclear programme.
The President has said that he is open to holding talks between the US and North Korea at the “appropriate time” and under the right “circumstances”.