The United States and South Korea on Saturday started joint naval
exercises that will involve three U.S. aircraft carriers in what
military officials describe as a clear warning to North Korea.
The four-day drills that began in waters off South Korea's eastern coast
come as President Donald Trump continues a visit to Asia that has been
dominated by discussions over the North Korean nuclear threat.
The battle groups of the USS Ronald Reagan, the Theodore Roosevelt
and the Nimitz will successively enter the exercise area during the
drills that run until Tuesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The three carriers will be likely together in the drills around Monday,
according to a South Korean military official, who didn't want to be
named, citing office rules.
The exercises will also involve 11 U.S. Aegis ships and seven South
Korean naval vessels, including two Aegis ships. The Aegis technology
refers to missile tracking and guidance.
They will aim to enhance combined operation and aerial strike
capabilities and also display "strong will and firm military readiness
to defeat any provocation by North Korea with dominant force in the
event of crisis," Seoul's military said in a statement.
It's the first time since a 2007 exercise near Guam that three U.S.
carrier strike groups are operating together in the Western Pacific,
according to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet. The U.S. carriers will also
participate in separate exercises with three Japanese destroyers on
Sunday, according to Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The United States has been sending its strategic assets, also including
long-range bombers, to the region more frequently for patrols or drills
amid accelerating North Korean efforts to expand its nuclear weapons
program.
In recent months, North Korea has tested intercontinental ballistic
missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland with further development and
has conducted its most powerful nuclear test. It also flew two new
midrange missiles over Japan and threatened to launch them toward Guam, a
U.S. Pacific territory and military hub.
Trump continued his tough talk against Pyongyang on Friday in a speech
to business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in
Danang, Vietnam,
saying that the region's future "must not be held hostage to a
dictator's twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail,"
referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump had also delivered a sharp warning to North Korea in a speech at
South Korea's parliament on Wednesday, telling the country: "Do not
underestimate us. And do not try us."
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