The Trump administration’s decision to send an aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean Peninsula is meant as a show…
WASHINGTON —
The Trump administration’s decision to send an aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean Peninsula is meant as a show of force, but it also could expose American weakness.
If North Korea goes ahead with a ballistic missile or nuclear test and the U. S. does nothing in response, America’s deterrence will appear diminished.
The USS Carl Vinson is on the move as anticipation mounts that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will stage a weapons test around the anniversary of the birth of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, the nation’s founder, on Saturday. Another potential date: An April 25 celebration of its armed forces.
The North sees U. S.-South Korea war games as preparations for an invasion. The U. S. and its allies have expressed alarm about the North’s recent ballistic missile launches, including a four-rocket salvo last month it described as a practice to strike U. S. bases in Japan.
Washington’s ultimate concern is the North’s developing ability to mount a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental missile, which it should be able to master in the next few years.
President Donald Trump told the Fox News Channel in an interview broadcast Wednesday that the U. S. was sending “an armada” of vessels, including submarines, but he declined to discuss military plans. At the Pentagon on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said sending the Vinson was “prudent.”
Army Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U. S. forces in South Korea, decided not to come to Washington for congressional hearings this month, his office said Tuesday, suggesting he had to stay for a potentially hazardous situation under his command. U. S. defense officials said that didn’ t mean military action was imminent.
