By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could be dispatched to the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, rather than the western waters as originally planned, to hold joint naval drills with the South Korean Navy, military sources said Tuesday.
The move comes as the planned South Korea-U.S. drills in the West Sea drew protest from China although the joint maritime maneuvers are aimed at showing a force of deterrence against North Korean provocations, the sources said.
Defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said South Korean and U.S. military authorities were still fine-tuning the timetable, scale and location of the maneuvers. But he hinted that the venue could be changed.
"South Korean-U.S. maritime exercises are held about 15 times every year," Won told reporters. "It's not important where the exercises are held. The thing is how the allies will demonstrate their strong combined defense readiness against the North following the Cheonan sinking."
The joint war games will be the top topic during the "2+2" meeting of foreign and defense ministries from the two countries next week in Seoul, he said. The meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday.
The drill, originally scheduled for June, was postponed until after the U.N. Security Council issued a statement last Friday on the Cheonan sinking, condemning the attack but not identifying who was to blame.
Beijing has publicly opposed the drill in which a U.S. aircraft carrier may engage because the location of the planned exercise is close to its eastern territorial waters.