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US carrier to join SKorea anti-submarine drill
[Al Arabiya Latest] A U.S. aircraft carrier will join a major anti-submarine naval exercise with South Korea next week in a show of strength to North Korea after the sinking of the warship incident, sources said Wednesday.South Korea, which accuses the North of torpedoing its ship Cheonan in March with the loss of 46 lives, is also mounting a diplomatic drive at the United Nations but indicated it would not seek new sanctions. About 10 ships, including the USS George Washington, an American Navy supercarrier, will leave its base in the Japanese port of Yokosuka around Saturday and arrive in the Yellow Sea early next week, said a U.S. military source. On Wednesday North Korean border guards were seen wearing combat helmets, instead of their usual caps, while on duty at the border village of Panmunjom. "They started wearing metal helmets last Thursday for the first time this year," said Kim Yong-Kyu, a spokesman for the U.S. military in South Korea. The South will deploy a 4,500-ton destroyer, a submarine and F-15K fighter jets. The joint drill was initially planned for late June or early July but was brought forward to send a "strong signal and show off a firm defense posture," the source said. Posted by: Fred 2010-06-03 |
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