Strike Aircraft Carrier USS Carl Vinson along with support vessels moves towards North Korea. "We feel the increased presence is necessary," a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters said, citing North Korea's worrisome behavior.
Concerns grow about North Korea's advancing weapons program. The strike group will make its way from Singapore toward the Korean peninsula, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.
In a statement late Saturday, the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet said the strike group had been directed to sail north, but it did not specify the destination. The military vessels will operate in the Western Pacific rather than making previously planned port visits to Australia, it added.
This year North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un, have repeatedly indicated an intercontinental ballistic missile test or something similar could be coming, possibly as soon as April 15, the 105th birthday of North Korea's founding president and celebrated annually as "the Day of the Sun."
Earlier this week U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Florida, where Trump pressed his counterpart to do more to curb North Korea's nuclear program.
During the same week, North Korea tested a liquid-fueled Scud missile which only traveled a fraction of its range.