The U.S. and Japanese defense chiefs and top diplomats are meeting in Washington to discuss North Korea amid mixed messages from the Trump administration on how to deal with the nuclear and missile threat.

Japan is a key U.S. ally and potential target of North Korean aggression.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are hosting Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and Foreign Minister Taro Kono at the State Department.

Thursday’s annual security cooperation meeting comes days after North Korea warned of plans to launch missiles toward the U.S. Pacific island of Guam.

President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon says there’s no military solution to the North Korean threat. Just last week, Trump pledged to answer North Korean aggression with “fire and fury.”

(AP)