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Navy sends aircraft carrier to Korean waters

SEOUL, South Korea — The Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington set off for the volatile waters west of the Korean peninsula Wednesday to join a naval readiness exercise with South Korean forces, the Combined Forces Command here announced, in an apparent show of strength against North Korea, which shelled an island of the South, killing two marines and two other civilians a day ago.

Fifteen other troops and four civilians were wounded during the attack, one of the most serious provocations by the communist regime since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The participation of the aircraft carrier strike group, which includes 75 aircraft and 6,000 sailors, was agreed upon by U.S. and South Korean leaders, according to the presidential offices in both countries.

President Barack Obama talked with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, for 30 minutes by phone and decided to dispatch the 97,000-ton aircraft carrier from the U.S. 7th Fleet, according to the White House. The carrier strike group left its home base in Yokosuka, Japan, for the West Sea to take part in drills starting Sunday and ending Dec. 1.

“The United States stands shoulder to shoulder with our close friend and ally,” Obama told Lee, according to a White House statement.

The CFC, led by Gen. Walter Sharp, issued a statement announcing the naval exercise is “defensive in nature.”

“While planned well before yesterday’s unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the strength of the ROK [Republic of Korea]-U.S. alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence. It is also designed to improve our military interoperability,” said the statement.

Along with the George Washington and its embarked carrier air wing, the statement said U.S. Navy ships scheduled to participate include the guided-missile cruiser Cowpens and the guided-missile destroyers Stethem, Fitzgerald and Lassen.

“The U.S. and ROK forces will conduct air defense and surface warfare readiness training,” the statement said.

CFC public affairs official Kim Yong-kyu said the U.S. government had notified China of the exercise plan. China has been opposed to U.S.-ROK joint maneuvers in the West Sea, or Yellow Sea, most of which it considers to be its territory.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the ROK Navy will deploy destroyers, corvettes, frigates, support ships and anti-submarine aircraft without specifying how many troops or what type of ships would be involved in the four-day exercise.

South Korean and U.S. officials said next week’s exercise is one in a series of drills announced in July in response to the sinking of the ROK Navy’s corvette Cheonan in March. The ship was sunk by a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine, a Seoul-led multinational team of investigators claims.

Pyongyang denies the allegation.

In July, about 8,000 U.S. and South Korean forces, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft took part in the “Invincible Spirit” exercise, the first of a series of war games held in response to the Cheonan sinking.

“We call upon North Korea to stop these unprovoked attacks and fully abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement,” said Sharp, who concurrently serves as commander of the United Nations Command (UNC) and U.S. Forces Korea, in a separate statement. “These actions are threatening the peace and stability of the entire region.”

The UNC will investigate the incident as part of its responsibility to maintain the Armistice Agreement and will determine any violations, he said, calling for holding of general officer-level talks with the North Korean People’s Army in order to initiate an exchange of information and de-escalate the situation.

On Tuesday, the North’s artillery unit fired about 170 shells toward Yeonpyeong Island just south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea border between the two Koreas, Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed.

The North is believed to have fired shells from an unidentified number of 122mm rocket launchers and 76.2mm coastal artillery guns at resident areas as well as the base of a South Korean marine brigade, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young testified during a parliamentary session. He called the attacks premeditated.

Of the 170 shells fired, some 80 rounds hit the island while 90 others landed offshore, Kim said.

The South returned fire, launching 80 150mm shells from four K9 self-propelled guns toward North Korean artillery bases in Mudo and Gaemeori. The North Korean casualties have yet to be reported.

Before the shelling, five MiG-23 fighters of the North Korean Air Force were patrolling near the NLL, while its Navy was readying ground-to-ship missiles and warships, the defense minister said.

“Taking various situations into account, the attack was believed to have been previously planned in a careful and measured way,” he said.

The minister said the ulterior motives behind the attacks include a response to the South Korea’s ongoing “Hoguk” field training exercise and efforts by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to ensure the succession of his youngest son, Jong-un.

“I’m paying attention to the fact that the North launched the attacks following its revelations of a new uranium enrichment plant Nov. 12,” Kim said. “The regime may be trying to build Jong-un’s reputation in order to help seize tight control of its people.”

The CFC raised its Watch Condition to level two, which denoted vital indications of a security threat, he noted.