The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transits the South China Sea on April 9, 2017. Photo: US Navy/Reuters
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transits the South China Sea on April 9, 2017. Photo: US Navy/Reuters

In a show of force amid continued missile tests in North Korea, the US is sending yet another aircraft carrier strike group to the Western Pacific.

The Kitsap Sun reported the USS Nimitz will depart on Thursday from the US, with expected visits in the Asia-Pacific, and several sources told Voice of America that the deployment was specifically targeted at North Korea.

“The USS Nimitz, one of the world’s largest warships, will join two other supercarriers, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan, in the western Pacific, the sources told VOA’s Steve Herman.”

The Ronald Reagan strike group is scheduled to carry out a joint drill with the Carl Vinson strike group, which has already been deployed to the Korean peninsula.

The news comes as China tightens border controls with North Korea in an apparent attempt to show the US they are getting tough on Pyongyang. Beijing has also been making appeals to open dialogue with North Korea, through the UN, as signals coming from Seoul show that South Korea’s newly elected president is also eager to deescalate tensions through talks with the North.

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