US sends destroyer off Korea coast: Official

The United States has positioned near North Korea a destroyer capable of shooting down missiles in the latest military move amid a showdown with the communist state, an official said on Monday.
The USS Fitzgerald, which had sailed to South Korea as part of recent exercises, has been sent off the south-western coast of the Korean peninsula instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a US defence official said.
The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that the shifting of the USS Fitzgerald was "a prudent move" meant to offer "greater missile defense options should that become necessary."
North Korea has threatened missile attacks against the United States. The official said that the United States
had earlier reduced its presence near Korean waters after the North launched a long-range rocket in December.