Donald Trump has announced his is selling Japan and South Korea a “substantially increased” amount of US military equipment, as the President and his allies look for ways to counter the threat from North Korea.

Amid mounting tension over North Korea aggressiveness, and the US’s bellicose rhetoric and sabre-rattling, Mr Trump said he was ready to increase the amount of military hardware in the region - presumably as a bid to deter Pyongyang.

“I am allowing Japan and South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States,” Mr Trump said on Twitter.

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Mr Trump’s comment came after the US and its allies scrambled to decide how to respond to recent actions from North Korea.

The East Asian nation has tested up to six missiles in recent months and over the weekend it apparently detonated a thermonuclear device, many more times powerful than the bomb the US dropped on Japan seven decades ago. It has fired missiles over the Japanese mainland, and threatened to fire such devices close to the US territory of Guam.

As Mr Trump made his announcement, a senior North Korean diplomat said his country was ready to send “more gift packages” to the US.

Han Tae Song, ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the UN in Geneva, was addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament two days after his country detonated its sixth nuclear test explosion.

“I am proud of saying that just two days ago on the 3rd of September, DPRK successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test for intercontinental ballistic rocket under its plan for building a strategic nuclear force,” he said, according to Reuters.

He added: “The recent self-defence measures by my country, DPRK, are a ‘gift package’ addressed to none other than the US.

“The US will receive more gift packages from my country as long as its relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK”.

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US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said North Korea had defied the international community once again.

“We look forward to working with our partners in the (Security) Council with regard to a new resolution that will put some of the strongest sanctions possible on the DPRK,” he told the conference, according to the news agency.

“Advances in the regime's nuclear and missile programame are a threat to us all…now is the time to say tests, threats and destabilising actions will no longer be tolerated. It can no longer be business as usual with this regime.”

The White House said on Monday that Mr Trump had agreed “in principle” to scrap a warhead weight limit on South Korea’s missiles in the wake of the North’s latest test. The United States accused North Korea’s trading partners of aiding its nuclear ambitions and said Pyongyang was “begging for war”. </s> US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on North Korea accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida February 11, 2017. — Reuters picWASHINGTON, Sept 3 — US President Donald Trump yesterday spoke by telephone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the escalating threats from North Korea, the White House said.

The conversation between the American and Japanese leaders came as North Korea said it had developed a more advanced thermonuclear weapon that possesses “great destructive power.”

Pyongyang said the weapon would be loaded on a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that experts believe has the range to hit much of the US.

“The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea in the face of the growing threat from North Korea,” the White House said in a statement. “President Trump noted that he looks forward to continued trilateral coordination on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.”

Trump spoke to Abe while flying back to Washington after visiting storm-ravaged Houston. — Reuters </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday after White House talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two leaders were working together to improve trading relations and that Abe promised new Japanese investment in the United States.

At a joint news conference, Trump said Abe told him Japan was buying “billions and billions of dollars of additional products of all kinds - military jets, airliners from Boeing, lots of farm products.”

“We’re working hard to reduce our trade imbalance which is very substantial, remove barriers to U.S. exports and to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial economic partnership,” Trump said.

Japan, a key American ally, is among a number of countries hit by metal tariffs Trump has imposed this year. The Trump administration has also threatened levies on imports of Japanese cars.

Trump has made clear he prefers a bilateral deal to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, while Abe’s government says multilateral agreements would be best.

“The United States seeks a bilateral deal with Japan that is based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity,” Trump said on Thursday.

Abe said he had a detailed and candid exchange of views with Trump and the discussions focused on North Korea.

Trump said his administration encouraged Japanese investment in new plants in the United States.

“The prime minister told me that will happen,” he said. “We want new auto plants going into Michigan and Pennsylvania and Ohio.” </s> WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday after White House talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two leaders were working together to improve trading relations and that Abe promised new Japanese investment in the United States.

At a joint news conference, Trump said Abe told him Japan was buying "billions and billions of dollars of additional products of all kinds - military jets, airliners from Boeing, lots of farm products."

"We're working hard to reduce our trade imbalance which is very substantial, remove barriers to U.S. exports and to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial economic partnership," Trump said.

Japan, a key American ally, is among a number of countries hit by metal tariffs Trump has imposed this year. The Trump administration has also threatened levies on imports of Japanese cars.

Trump has made clear he prefers a bilateral deal to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, while Abe's government says multilateral agreements would be best.

"The United States seeks a bilateral deal with Japan that is based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity," Trump said on Thursday.

Abe said he had a detailed and candid exchange of views with Trump and the discussions focused on North Korea.

Trump said his administration encouraged Japanese investment in new plants in the United States.

"The prime minister told me that will happen," he said. "We want new auto plants going into Michigan and Pennsylvania and Ohio." (Reporting by James Oliphant; Writing by Mohammad Zargham Editing by James Dalgleish) </s> WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to discuss American purchases of Japanese automobiles and other sensitive trade issues with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Trump, at the start of the meeting with Abe, said he also would raise the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, a key American ally that was among countries hit by the metal tariffs Trump imposed this spring.

"Obviously, we buy a lot of things from Japan - in particular, automobiles. We'll have to talk about that," Trump told reporters, adding that Japan also buys a lot of military equipment from the United States.

Abe, who is in Washington to meet with Trump ahead of the U.S. president's historic summit next week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, praised Trump and said he also wanted to talk about investment.

Their meeting comes as Trump prepares to attend the G7 summit on Friday and Saturday in Canada, where a cool reception may await him following his tariffs on steel and aluminum that also were levied on Japan, Canada, European nations and others.

The G7 group includes Canada, the United States, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Germany. The EU also attends. (Reporting by James Oliphant Writing by Susan Heavey Editing by Bill Trott) </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to discuss American purchases of Japanese automobiles and other sensitive trade issues with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Trump, at the start of the meeting with Abe, said he also would raise the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, a key American ally that was among countries hit by the metal tariffs Trump imposed this spring.

“Obviously, we buy a lot of things from Japan - in particular, automobiles. We’ll have to talk about that,” Trump told reporters, adding that Japan also buys a lot of military equipment from the United States.

Abe, who is in Washington to meet with Trump ahead of the U.S. president’s historic summit next week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, praised Trump and said he also wanted to talk about investment.

Their meeting comes as Trump prepares to attend the G7 summit on Friday and Saturday in Canada, where a cool reception may await him following his tariffs on steel and aluminum that also were levied on Japan, Canada, European nations and others.

The G7 group includes Canada, the United States, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Germany. The EU also attends. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to discuss American purchases of Japanese automobiles and other sensitive trade issues with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Trump, at the start of the meeting with Abe, said he also would raise the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, a key American ally that was among countries hit by the metal tariffs Trump imposed this spring.

"Obviously, we buy a lot of things from Japan - in particular, automobiles. We'll have to talk about that," Trump told reporters, adding that Japan also buys a lot of military equipment from the United States.

Abe, who is in Washington to meet with Trump ahead of the U.S. president's historic summit next week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, praised Trump and said he also wanted to talk about investment.

Their meeting comes as Trump prepares to attend the G7 summit on Friday and Saturday in Canada, where a cool reception may await him following his tariffs on steel and aluminum that also were levied on Japan, Canada, European nations and others.

The G7 group includes Canada, the United States, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Germany. The EU also attends.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States was stopping “very provocative” and costly military exercises with South Korea to facilitate denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.

The United States and its ally South Korea hold regular military exercises to the fury of North Korea, which has long seen the drills as preparations to invade it.

“The war games are very expensive, we pay for the majority of them,” Trump told a news conference in Singapore after a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“Under the circumstances, that we’re negotiating ... I think it’s inappropriate to be having war games.” </s> On Tuesday, N Korea fired a missile, prompting Trump to insist that 'all options were on the table' in a threat of pre-emptive action.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) on April 15, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea and US President Donald Trump in Washington on April 29. (Photo: AP)

Washington: The US and South Korea on Saturday vowed to strengthen their alliance through defence cooperation to fight the threats posed by North Korea with President Donald Trump giving a "conceptual approval" to sell Seoul American military equipment worth billions of dollars.

On Tuesday, North Korea fired a missile over Japan, prompting Trump to insist that "all options were on the table" in an implied threat of pre-emptive military action.

Trump in a phone call with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in discussed a coordinated response to deal with the "destabilising and escalatory behaviour" of North Korea, the White House said.

"Trump and Moon pledged to continue to apply strong diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea and to make all necessary preparations to deter and defend against the growing threat posed by North Korea," it said.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen the alliance through defence cooperation and to strengthen South Korea's defence capabilities.

"Trump provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment," the White House said.

In a separate call, Trump spoke with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to discuss the two countries' 25-year relationship and his recently announced South Asia strategy.

"Trump expressed appreciation for Kazakhstan's regional and global leadership, including its upcoming tenure as Chair of the United Nations Security Council in January, and congratulated President Nazarbayev on hosting the Astana Expo 2017," the White House said.

Trump also spoke with President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia.

"President Trump stressed the importance of Colombia doing its utmost to eliminate the production and trafficking of illegal drugs," it said.
Amid tensions from South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump announces that he is "allowing Japan and South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States."