US vice president discusses Korean Peninsula with Australian PM

US Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to the CEOs of Australian-based companies in Sydney, Australia, April 22, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

SYDNEY - US Vice President Mike Pence met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday, as US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson steamed toward the Korean Peninsula.

"The (US) president wanted me to be here early in this administration to reaffirm the strong and historic alliance between the United States of America and Australia," Pence told Turnbull.

Pence thanked Turnbull for his support on the highly contentious situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"While all options are on the table, let me assure you the United States will continue to work closely with Australia, our other allies in the region and China" to bring pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pence said.

Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group has continued to steam toward the Korean Peninsula, after confusion from the Trump administration earlier this week as to the location of the aircraft carrier.

Earlier Saturday, the US Navy confirmed reports of a pilot ejecting from his F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet while making an attempt to land on the aircraft carrier, which was at that time located in the Celebes Sea, just south of the Philippines.

With the accident occurring some 3,800 km from Pyongyang, US Navy officials said that Carl Vinson should be arriving in the Korean Peninsula some time next week.