[USFK Forums] US Aircraft Carrier to Participate in Joint Drill [Korea Times]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Tuesday, March 14, 2006

US Aircraft Carrier to Participate in Joint Drill

The Korea Times, Tuesday, March 14, 2006By Jung Sung-ki, Staff Reporter

[PHOTO: Unloadable] U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln

An advanced U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be mobilized during the annual South Korea-U.S. military drills scheduled for later this month, a military source said on Tuesday.

During the training exercises on March 25-31 here, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) will anchor in the East Sea off Pohang, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and U.S. advanced fighter jets, including FA-18 Hornets, on the ship will participate in the joint drills, he said. The United States Forces Korea (USFK) declined to comment further.

Last Saturday, North Korea delayed the planned inter-Korean ministerial talks on March 28-31 to protest the joint drills which it describes as ``hostile war exercises'' impeding the peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The six-party talks over the North's nuclear weapons program have stalled since last November following financial sanctions imposed by Washington on Pyongyang for alleged counterfeiting and money laundering activities.

South Korea and the United States have held their two joint exercises _
Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI) and Foal Eagle (FE) _ at the same time since 2002. The field exercies, this year, about 3,000 U.S. troops will take part in the war-games.

It is the first time the U.S. nuclear-powered ship has visited South Korea. The USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, based near Tokyo, Japan, has participated in the RSOI-FE exercises.

However, the steam turbine-driven Kitty Hawk built in 1961 is soon to be retired because of its age. Under a recent agreement between the United States and Japan, the USS Abraham Lincoln is to be deployed at the Yokosuka U.S. naval base in Japan, in 2008.

The Abraham Lincoln, nicknamed ``Abe,'' is the fifth Nimitz-class super-carrier in the U.S. Navy. The ship is named after former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The 332.8 meter-long shipwith its 3,000-plus crew

It is able to carry about 80 state-of-the-art jet fighters, such as 12 F-14D Tomcats, 24 FA-18C Hornets and FA-18E Super Hornet maritime strike attack aircraft.

In May 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier, announcing an end to hostilities in Iraq, with a banner emblazoned with the words ``Mission Accomplished'' proudly.


gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

03-14-2006 17:44

(END)