US Navy moves second aircraft carrier near Pyongyang

Washington May 19 (IANS) The US Navy is moving a second aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to the Korean Peninsula where it will conduct dual-carrier training drills with the USS Carl Vinson defence officials said.

After completing a maintenance period and sea trials in Yokosuka Japan the USS Ronald Reagan departed for the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday the officials told CNN on Thursday.

Coming out of a long in-port maintenance period we have to ensure that Ronald Reagan and the remainder of the strike group are integrated properly as we move forward Rear Admiral Charles Williams said in a statement.

Once it arrives in the region the carrier will conduct a variety of training exercises but primarily focus on certifying its ability to safely launch and recover aircraft.

The 1 092-foot Reagan carries a crew of 4 539 and is equipped with roughly 60 aircraft according to the Navy.

It was commissioned in 2003 and cost about $8.5 billion.

The USS Carl Vinson arrived at the Korean Peninsula late April as a show of force in advance of a long-anticipated sixth nuclear test from the North Korean government reports CNN.

On Sunday Pyongyang launched a KN-17 missile that achieved an altitude of more than 1 000 miles which according to the North Koreans is by far their longest reach yet in their missile test programme.

--IANS
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