By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and other high-tech warships will visit the southern port of Busan, Wednesday, ahead of a massive joint exercise with the South Korean Navy in the East Sea later this month, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) announced Monday.
The USS George Washington from the port of Yokosuka, Japan, will anchor off Busan through Sunday for community outreach programs, it said.
“The U.S. Navy maintains a robust forward presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and the people of the Republic of Korea are our good friend and ally,” commanding officer Capt. David Lausman said in a news release.
“Our presence here is a testament to the strength of our alliance and our constant readiness to defend the Republic of Korea,” he said.
While in Busan, the carrier will host a reception for distinguished members of the community, and will conduct a number of guided tours of the 97,000-ton vessel, according to the release.
Last week, Seoul and Washington unveiled plans to hold joint maritime maneuvers in the East Sea. The decision has drawn a public backlash as the allies apparently backed down from their earlier position to stage an exercise in the West Sea in the face of strong protests by China.
South Korea and the United States had planned a joint naval exercise in the West Sea in a show of force against North Korean provocation, following the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in the disputed waters. A Seoul-led multinational team reported in May that the ship had been torpedoed by a North Korean submarine.
Details about the planned exercise in the eastern waters of the Korean Peninsula are expected to be discussed Wednesday, when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates hold “2+2” talks with their South Korean counterparts ― Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan and Defense Minister Kim Tae-young.
Gates arrived in Seoul Monday evening. He will visit a U.S. infantry base north of Seoul Tuesday morning and hold talks with Minister Kim over the planned exercise and other key issues, including the transition of wartime operational control.
A spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said the planned exercise will demonstrate a stronger South Korean-U.S. deterrent capability than before in terms of scale.
The USS George Washington carries nearly 5,000 crew and flight staff, including 400-plus officers and more than 4,000 enlisted sailors.
The 97,000-ton vessel carries more than 65 aircraft, including F/A 18 Hornets, F/A 18 E/F Super Hornets, EA6B Prowlers, E2C Hawkeyes, C-2 Greyhounds and SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.
The George Washington Carrier Strike Group includes the destroyers USS Cowpens, Mustin, McCampbell, and Fitzgerald.
For the joint drill, South Korea will mobilize F-15K and KF-16 aircraft, as well as KDX-series destroyers and attack submarines.