http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170409000204
Following the missile strike on a Syrian government airbase, the US has sent a strike group toward the Korean Peninsula to bolster Washington’s presence in the region as North Korea appears closer to conducting another nuclear and missile provocation.
The Carl Vinson Strike Group is moving toward the peninsula after stopping in Singapore. The carrier strike group was originally scheduled to sail to Australia until the US Pacific Command changed its itinerary to the Western Pacific.
The USS Carl Vinson supercarrier arrives at a port in Busan, Korea on March 15. (EPA-Yonhap)
“US Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific,” Cmdr. David Benham, a spokesman for PACOM, said in a statement.
“Third Fleet ships operate forward with a purpose: To safeguard US interests in the Western Pacific. The No. 1 threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible, and destabilizing program of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” he said.
Since it was deployed from San Diego to the Western Pacific in January, the strike group has participated in bilateral exercises with the Japanese and South Korean militaries as well as patrols in the South China Sea.
North Korea has conducted a series of ballistic missile tests and appeared to be ready for another nuclear test, with satellite images showing that the regime has dispatched vehicles and devices to its Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
With the first summit between the US and China ending with little progress on North Korean issues, analysts expect the Pyongyang to push ahead with another weapons test to mark one of the major holidays in April.
“Now that the US-China summit has ended, North Korea is likely to conduct its sixth nuclear test or launch intercontinental ballistic missiles to increase the sophistication of its weapons capability,” Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.
Historically, North Korea has announced advancement in tis nuclear and missile program on important dates on the North Korean calendar, such as April 15, the birthday of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung, or the April 25 Military Foundation Day, the anniversary of the creation of a guerilla force by Kim Il-sung.
North Korea has tested nuclear devices on five previous occasions, in 2006, 2009, 2013 and twice last year. The most recent test occurred on Sept. 9, the day marking the founding of North Korea and the first one came a day before the Workers’ Party of Korea’s founding day on Oct. 10.
The deployment of the Strike Group came after the US President Donald Trump wrapped up his first meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which was largely overshadowed by the US launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian airbase of the warplanes that carried out chemical attacks on civilians Tuesday.
As the two leaders do not appear to have come up with specific measures to deal with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats, the strikes have added weight to the Trump administration’s threat to act “unilaterally” against the North, including military options.
By Yeo Jun-suk ([email protected])
Following the missile strike on a Syrian government airbase, the US has sent a strike group toward the Korean Peninsula to bolster Washington’s presence in the region as North Korea appears closer to conducting another nuclear and missile provocation.
The Carl Vinson Strike Group is moving toward the peninsula after stopping in Singapore. The carrier strike group was originally scheduled to sail to Australia until the US Pacific Command changed its itinerary to the Western Pacific.
The USS Carl Vinson supercarrier arrives at a port in Busan, Korea on March 15. (EPA-Yonhap)
“US Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific,” Cmdr. David Benham, a spokesman for PACOM, said in a statement.
“Third Fleet ships operate forward with a purpose: To safeguard US interests in the Western Pacific. The No. 1 threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible, and destabilizing program of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” he said.
Since it was deployed from San Diego to the Western Pacific in January, the strike group has participated in bilateral exercises with the Japanese and South Korean militaries as well as patrols in the South China Sea.
North Korea has conducted a series of ballistic missile tests and appeared to be ready for another nuclear test, with satellite images showing that the regime has dispatched vehicles and devices to its Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
With the first summit between the US and China ending with little progress on North Korean issues, analysts expect the Pyongyang to push ahead with another weapons test to mark one of the major holidays in April.
“Now that the US-China summit has ended, North Korea is likely to conduct its sixth nuclear test or launch intercontinental ballistic missiles to increase the sophistication of its weapons capability,” Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.
Historically, North Korea has announced advancement in tis nuclear and missile program on important dates on the North Korean calendar, such as April 15, the birthday of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung, or the April 25 Military Foundation Day, the anniversary of the creation of a guerilla force by Kim Il-sung.
North Korea has tested nuclear devices on five previous occasions, in 2006, 2009, 2013 and twice last year. The most recent test occurred on Sept. 9, the day marking the founding of North Korea and the first one came a day before the Workers’ Party of Korea’s founding day on Oct. 10.
The deployment of the Strike Group came after the US President Donald Trump wrapped up his first meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which was largely overshadowed by the US launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian airbase of the warplanes that carried out chemical attacks on civilians Tuesday.
As the two leaders do not appear to have come up with specific measures to deal with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats, the strikes have added weight to the Trump administration’s threat to act “unilaterally” against the North, including military options.
By Yeo Jun-suk ([email protected])