A US carrier group was deployed to the North Korean Peninsula on Saturday evening following a series of provocative missile launches from the Middle Eastern Nation.
The Precursors
Over the past year, North Korea has continually launched one nuclear missile after the next despite severe reprimands from the international community. Over the past month man alone, the country has conducted two ballistic missile tests against United Nations regulations and restrictions.
International blocs have sought to curb the growing threat posed by the North Korean nuclear program in a variety of ways. The European Union, for example, slapped sanctions on the country in a bid to lessen the revenue directed toward the nuclear weapons program. This move, however, proved ineffective when President Kim Jong-un of North Korea sacrificed some of the country’s other resources to satisfy an ambition for the ballistic missiles program. More recently, President Donald Trump of the US promised to ‘deal with’ the threat posed by the nation’s disregard for the UN ban against such tests. To that effect Mr. Trump even met with China’s President Xi Jinping, to enlist the aid of the Asian superpower in dealing with its errant neighbor.
China has long since held a neutral stance when it comes to North Korea. It has not supported sanctions and other diplomatic means of censure made by other nations. Attributed to this position is that China fears an onslaught by North Korean refugees should it join in the fight against its neighbor to the South.
North Korea launched a nuclear missile into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, and that seemed to be the final straw for the United States. President Trump warned that the US would now deal with the growing threat posed by the country ‘with or without China.’
What the new artillery looks like
Coming days after United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned of a ‘change in tactic’ in the way the US dealt with North Korea, the deployment of the Carl Vinson Strike Team shows a series of military action against supposed threats by the US. The most recent of these has been the bombing of a Syrian airbase by the US, which North Korea termed an ‘intolerable show of aggression against a sovereign nation.’
The strike team was originally sent off to port in Australia but later changed course and headed to Singapore. Headed by Admiral Nora Tyson, the team has participated in exercises with the Japanese Maritime Defence Forces and more recently with the South Korean Navy.
The strike team now headed north towards the Western side of the Pacific consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, along with two guided-missile destroyers and one guided-missile cruiser. The team has a crew of about 7,500 sailors and overall, is a tad imposing.
The Carl Vinson strike team was sent to North Korea by Adm. Harry Harris, the Pacific Command spokesperson said. Dave Benham, the spokesman, added, “The team was deployed there to maintain readiness and presence in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat.”
This latest move by the US is edging toward war, North Korea responded.
