ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON — The East Sea off the coast of the Korean peninsula roiled with U.S. and South Korean ships, submarines, fighter jets and helicopters Monday in a set of high-profile military maneuvers intended to show North Korea that it is being watched.
Military officials said that despite threats of retaliation, North Korea was staying clear. Most of the firepower for the four-day exercises — which North Korea condemns — has been flying off the decks of the USS George Washington, a U.S. supercarrier that can carry up to 70 aircraft and more than 5,000 sailors and aviators.
Washington and Seoul are hoping the drills — and the deployment of the most potent symbol of American military reach in the U.S. Navy — will send a powerful message to North Korea in the wake of the March sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors. An international investigation determined the ship was sunk by torpedo, likely in a sneak attack by a North Korean submarine.
The “Invincible Spirit” exercises involve about 20 ships, 200 aircraft and about 8,000 U.S. and South Korean sailors. It is the Japan-based George Washington’s first deployment to South Korea since 2008.
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