SABER-RATTLING

North Korea ‘Ready’ to Sink U.S. Ships

A show of ‘military force.’

The government of North Korea has announced that, in "an actual example to show our military's force," its military was "combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike." Written in the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, the government announcement also declared that North Korea is in possession of missiles that "can reach continental U.S. and Asia Pacific region" as well as the "absolute weapon," a hydrogen bomb. Those claims have not been validated, but appear to be in response to nearby joint military exercises being conducted with the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class supercarrier currently holding "tactical training" drills with two Japanese destroyers in the West Pacific. President Donald Trump had announced on April 12 that, in the face of increased threats of an impending nuclear test by North Korea, he was sending the Vinson as part of "an armada" to the Korean peninsula. In fact, the Vinson was headed in the opposite direction to engage in military exercises with the Australian navy.