US vice-president in S Korea amid tensions

US Vice-President Mike Pence is to give security reassurances to allies in Asia amid growing tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes.

On a visit to South Korea, he is set to discuss ways to deal with Pyongyang amid speculation that leader Kim Jong-un could order a new nuclear test.

North Korea has warned the US not to take provocative action as it is "ready to hit back with nuclear attacks".

A US navy strike group is moving towards the Korean peninsula.

On a long-planned 10-day trip to Asia, his first official visit to the region, Mr Pence will reaffirm the US commitment to stand by its regional allies, officials say.

It comes as Washington steps up the pressure on the isolated North, with President Donald Trump saying that the United States is ready to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat.

Mr Pence's visit comes a day after North Korea displayed what appeared to be new intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles during a huge military parade in Pyongyang.