A photograph provided by the US Navy appears to have undone President Donald Trump's claim that he was sending an "armada" toward the Korean Peninsula in an apparent massive show of force.

In fact, the battle group was a lot closer to Australia and thousands of nautical miles from North Korea. But it is headed north, sometime soon.

The "armada" headed by the the flagship aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was allegedly ordered to "sail north" as a "prudent measure" to deter North Korea from any nuclear testing.

Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on April 11 said the Vinson was "on her way up" to the peninsula and President Donald Trump the next day said: "We are sending an armada. Very powerful."

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Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transits the Sunda Strait in Indonesia on Friday. Source: US Navy/AFP

However, a navy photograph has revealed the Vinson was actually off the coast of Java in Indonesia over the weekend.

And a defence official on Tuesday said the ships are were the northwest coast of Australia.

"They are going to start heading north towards the Sea of Japan within next 24 hours," the official said on condition of anonymity.

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The armada US had threatened to send to the Korean Peninsula more than a week ago, has still not left, an official has confirmed. PHoto: AP

The official added that the strike group wouldn't be in the region before next week at the earliest - it is thousands of nautical miles from the Java Sea to the Sea of Japan.

At the time of the strike group's deployment, many media outlets said the ships were steaming toward North Korea, when in fact they had temporarily headed in the opposite direction.

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