The US is beefing up its presence around the Korean Peninsula ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics by deploying stealth bombers, at least one extra aircraft carrier and a new amphibious assault ship to the region.
Coming after Washington agreed to postpone massive annual military maneuvers with South Korea until after the Games, North Korea said the US is trying to put a chill on its renewed talks with Seoul.
“Such moves are an unpardonable military provocation chilling the atmosphere for improved inter-Korean relations,” the North’s ruling party said in a commentary published on Sunday.
Photo: AP
Representatives of the two Koreas yesterday held a second round of talks near the Demilitarized Zone to try to pave the way for a North Korean delegation to join the Pyeongchang Games.
The US has officially welcomed the talks and the moves represent routine training and scheduled upgrades, according to US military officials, but tensions remain high and the military deployments are significant.
Last week, the US’ Pacific Air Forces announced that three B-2 “Spirit” stealth bombers with about 200 personnel have been deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Guam.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The deployment was intended to provide leaders with “deterrent options to maintain regional stability,” the statement said.
However, the deployment hits an especially sore nerve and plays on a key vulnerability for Pyongyang, which is probably the message Washington has in mind as it seeks to make sure nothing happens during the Olympics and also let Pyongyang know its decision to postpone the exercises is not a sign of weakness.
The B-2 is the most advanced bomber in the US Air Force and, unlike the B-1B, can carry nuclear weapons. It is also the only known aircraft that can drop the US Air Force’s biggest bomb, the 14,000kg GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which was designed with North Korea in mind.
The B-2 deployment came just days after the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier departed for the western Pacific in what the US Navy called a regularly scheduled deployment.
South Korean media reports say the carrier and its strike group will reach waters near the Korean Peninsula ahead of the start of the Games on Feb. 9.
The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, whose home port is Yokosuka, Japan, is also in the region, and North Korea has accused the US of planning to send the USS John Stennis from Washington state.
The US Marines on Sunday announced the arrival in southern Japan of the USS Wasp, an upgraded amphibious assault ship.
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