The USS Carl Vinson, a US aircraft carrier, on Saturday started a joint naval drill with the South Korean Navy in the East Sea (the Sea of Japan) amid escalating tensions from the DPRK's failed ballistic missile launch on Saturday morning, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported citing defense officials.
"South Korea and US strike forces began a drill in the East Sea from 6 p.m. today against the backdrop of the current security situation," the South Korean Navy said.
The drill aims at deterring the DPRK's provocations and strengthening the military readiness of the Korea-US alliance, said the Navy.
Fighter jets line up on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson off Tsushima Island in Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture in this photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on April 29, 2017./ VCG Photo
Earlier on Saturday, the Carl Vinson had conducted a joint drill with Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyers, according to Japan’s Kyodo News Agency.
The Carl Vinson strike group already conducted a series of joint exercises with the MSDF and Japan's Air Self-Defense Force as it headed north from the Philippine Sea.
The presence of the US strike group, as well as the joint military drills of the US and South Korea are said to be a show of force towards the DPRK.
The French navy ship Mistral has also arrived in Japan's southern city of Nagasaki for a joint military exercise. The four nations participating in the drill include Japan, the US, the UK and France.
