The official said the group is in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, for exercises with Japanese forces to reassure allies and partners in the region. The move comes as US officials become increasingly concerned that North Korea could conduct an underground nuclear test in the coming days. This is the first time since 2017 that a group of air carriers has been deployed in the waters between South Korea and Japan. That year, the USS Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz, and their multi-ship strike teams, were deployed in a demonstration of strength in North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons tests. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted anonymous sources as saying that the USS Abraham Lincoln would operate in the area for three to five days. Responding to South Korean media reports Monday, a spokesman for the US-led forces in Korea (USFK) said they would not comment on planned or ongoing exercises. Advisers to the South Korean president-elect sought to redeploy US strategic means, including aircraft carriers, nuclear bombers and submarines, to the Korean Peninsula during talks during a visit to Washington last week. read more South Korea’s defense ministry said it was aware the carrier was in international waters, but declined to comment on the reports because it’s a US military advantage. North Korea has in the past criticized US military exercises as a rehearsal of war and said they were escalating tensions. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Idrees Ali in Washington and Josh Smith in Seoul. Edited by Kenneth Maxwell Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
