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North Korea tension: US 'armada' was not sailing to Korean peninsula | |
(35 minutes later) | |
A US aircraft carrier and other warships did not sail towards North Korea - but went in the opposite direction, it has emerged. | A US aircraft carrier and other warships did not sail towards North Korea - but went in the opposite direction, it has emerged. |
The US Navy said on 8 April that the Carl Vinson strike group was travelling to the Korean peninsula amid tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. | |
Last week President Trump said an "armada" was being sent. | Last week President Trump said an "armada" was being sent. |
But the group was actually farther away over the weekend, moving through the Sunda Strait into the Indian Ocean. | But the group was actually farther away over the weekend, moving through the Sunda Strait into the Indian Ocean. |
The US military's Pacific Command said on Tuesday that it had cancelled a port visit to Perth, but had completed previously scheduled training with Australia off its northwest coast after departing Singapore on 8 April. | The US military's Pacific Command said on Tuesday that it had cancelled a port visit to Perth, but had completed previously scheduled training with Australia off its northwest coast after departing Singapore on 8 April. |
The strike group was now "proceeding to the Western Pacific as ordered". | The strike group was now "proceeding to the Western Pacific as ordered". |
It is not clear whether the failure to arrive was a deliberate deception, perhaps designed to frighten North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, a change of plan or simple miscommunication, the BBC's Korea correspondent Stephen Evans says. | It is not clear whether the failure to arrive was a deliberate deception, perhaps designed to frighten North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, a change of plan or simple miscommunication, the BBC's Korea correspondent Stephen Evans says. |
Either way, US Vice-President Mike Pence was undeterred as he spoke aboard the USS Ronald Reagan - an aircraft carrier docked in Japan - during his tour of the region, vowing to "defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response". | |
North Korea and the US have ratcheted up tensions in recent weeks and the movement of the strike group had raised the question of a pre-emptive strike by the US. | North Korea and the US have ratcheted up tensions in recent weeks and the movement of the strike group had raised the question of a pre-emptive strike by the US. |
On Wednesday, Mr Pence described the country as the "most dangerous and urgent threat to peace and security" in the Asia-Pacific. | |
His words came after the North held a show of military might in a parade over the weekend and tested another missile on Sunday, which blew up almost immediately after launch, the Pentagon said. | |
The US also accused North Korea of trying to "provoke something", with US Defence Secretary James Mattis calling the test a reckless move on Tuesday. | |
He said the US was "working closely" with China to engage North Korea. | He said the US was "working closely" with China to engage North Korea. |
Pyongyang said it may test missiles on a weekly basis, and warned of "all-out war" if the US takes military action. | Pyongyang said it may test missiles on a weekly basis, and warned of "all-out war" if the US takes military action. |
"If the US is planning a military attack against us, we will react with a nuclear pre-emptive strike by our own style and method," Vice-Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol told the BBC on Monday. | "If the US is planning a military attack against us, we will react with a nuclear pre-emptive strike by our own style and method," Vice-Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol told the BBC on Monday. |
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