Carl Vinson to arrive in East Sea 'in days'

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (center) attends a business meeting with Australian and U.S. companies in Sydney, Australia, Apr. 22. / AFP-Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on the South China Sea while conducting flight operations on Apr. 9. / AFP-Yonhap

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group will arrive in the East Sea “within days” to warn nuclear-armed North Korea against further acts of provocation, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday.

Visiting Australia, Pence said at a joint press conference with the country’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the carrier and strike group were expected east of the Korean Peninsula within this month, Australian media reported.

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun had earlier reported that the battleships would sail to Korean waters after completing training drills with the Australian Navy.

On a final leg of his Asian tour, Pence said he believed a nuclear-free Korean peninsula was possible because of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s “engagement” with China, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a summit in Florida this month. Pence added that “all options are on the table,” and that if China, “the key to influence North Korea,” was unable to deal with Pyongyang, the U.S. and its allies would step up.

Tension has been rising, with expectations that North Korea could conduct a sixth nuclear test around Apr. 25, when the regime celebrates the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army with a show of its military power.

There was controversy after top U.S. officials misleadingly said last week that the USS Carl Vinson was heading to the Korean Peninsula to deter North Korea. But the aircraft carrier was actually going the other way to participate in exercises with Australia.

North Korean government mouthpiece the Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary Saturday, “If the U.S. provokes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea even a bit, its army and people will start a great war of justice for national reunification without hesitation.”