(Yonhap Feature) U.S. aircraft carrier enters S. Korean naval base amid N. Korea

(ATTN: photos available)
By Sam Kim
ABOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS, South Korea, March 11 (Yonhap) -- As North Korea
stepped up its accusations that South Korea and the United States are preparing
for nuclear war on the divided peninsula, a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier
eased Wednesday into a naval base in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan.
Flanked by two destroyers and a cruiser -- all equipped with guided missiles --
the USS John C. Stennis carried about 70 aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornets, E-2C
Hawkeyes with early warning systems, and other advanced units built to secure
maximum air superiority.
The arrival of one of the most advanced U.S. aircraft carriers coincided with the
warning by North Korea that it will mobilize "every necessary measure" to defend
itself against what it calls a full-fledged war preparation by South Korea and
the U.S.
The allies, who remain technically at war with the communist state after the
1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, on Monday kicked off a 12-day joint military
exercise that they emphasize is purely defensive.
The North, which neighbors fear could try to test-fire a ballistic missile
capable of striking Alaska during the exercise, said Wednesday the Key Resolve
and Foal Eagle amounts to "a preemptive attack on the DPRK in terms of their
scale and contents from A to Z."
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
U.S. Rear Admiral Mark A. Vance, commander of Carrier Strike Group Three that
oversees the carrier, dismissed the North Korean concerns.
The deployment "is not focused on what's going on in North Korea. It is part of a
normal annual exercise," he told reporters, speaking inside the vessel three
times the size of a football field.
U.S. aircraft carriers routinely dock at South Korean ports during joint annual
exercises with the Asian ally. The USS John C. Stennis arrived in Busan -- the
second largest South Korean city 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul -- along with
the USS Blue Ridge, the flagship for the commander of U.S. 7th Fleet that
oversees the western Pacific.
Vance, who falls under the command of a vice admiral aboard the USS Blue Ridge,
declined to disclose how the mission of his unit would be affected if North Korea
provoked during the exercise.
"We can't talk about any future role of operations," he said, even though he
voiced confidence that the strike group is "always combat-ready and available."
"My perception of our capabilities from high-end combat to humanitarian
assistance in disaster relief -- we're capable of performing all and every one of
those functions and everything in between," he said.
North Korea warned earlier this year of an armed clash with South Korea near
their western sea border where naval battles turned deadly in 1999 and 2002.
It has also announced that it will not guarantee the safety of South Korean
passenger airplanes flying over its eastern waters during the exercise. Related
airlines have diverted their flights.
Outside the naval base in Busan, about a dozen anti-American activists staged a
rally demanding the U.S. naval forces "go away, stop war rehearsal."
Bae Jong-ryul, a member of Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea, said
the allies are "flat-out lying about the intention behind the exercise."
"It is hypocritical that they are conducting a war exercise aimed at deposing the
North Korean leadership while publicly holding out an olive branch," he said.
Over 25,000 American troops, tens of thousands of South Korean soldiers, and a
nuclear-powered submarine are also participating in this year's exercise.
Lieutenant Commander Cindy Fields, the group's chief public relations officer,
said the main goal of her aircraft carrier is to "test communication and
inter-operability" with South Korean units.
"If there are any communication issues or concerns, they can test them, they can
try to radio back and forth," she said. "That way if you needed to go into an
exercise beyond Foal Eagle together, you've tested those things, practiced and
tried to work out any problem."
The USS John C. Stennis was commissioned in 1995 with twin nuclear engines,
virtually enabling the vessel to travel the world without refueling.
A city of its own kind with a crew of over 5,000, a daily newspaper, a television
station, a post office with its own area code, and so forth, the carrier has a
service plan of 50 years and operates a fighter wing that has a history of
deployment in the Korean War.
The carrier will join the exercise in full starting next week, officers on board
said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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