US Aircraft Carrier Arrives In Skorea Amid Tension

From Excite.com Updated 3:21 AM ET July 11, 1999

ABOARD THE CONSTELLATION, South Korea (Reuters) - The United States displayed its naval muscle in South Korea Sunday when a battle group sailed into a southwestern port amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Led by aircraft carrier USS Constellation, the battle group's five-day visit to Pusan is its first port of call since leaving San Diego last month on a routine six-month deployment which ends in the Gulf.

The group also includes two guided-missile cruisers and two submarines and has more than 9,000 sailors, including about 4,600 on the Constellation, according to officials aboard the carrier.

The 88,000-tonne Constellation, carrying 75 combat and support aircraft, was already headed toward South Korea in mid-June when a clash broke out between North and South Korean navies in the Yellow Sea.

The Constellation's commanding officer, Captain Don Bullard, said the carrier was temporarily in the area to cover the absence of the USS Kitty Hawk, which was in the Gulf.

"We provide awesome striking power from sea if need be. We are prepared to do that at any time (in this region), although I hope it won't be needed," Bullard told Reuters.

Washington is concerned North Korea plans to test-fire a new long-range missile which could put Alaska within striking reach. In August, the communist nation generated alarm in the region when it test-fired a Taepodong-1 missile which sailed over Japan and into the P

-- here we go! (drop and cover@head down.com), July 11, 1999

Answers

here we go,

If North Korea has any Brains they won't test the missile.

If they don't, then if We had any brains We'd take it down with a Patriot missile or someother technology.

It's about time the US flexed some muscle in their direction.

Father

-- Thomas G. Hale (hale.tg@att.net), July 11, 1999.

Sorry, but a Patriot won't intercept the new, longer-range missles...that's why the US is working on the Theatre Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) program. The Army just got their first test intercept to work... The system is a long way from implementation. On the other hand, the N. Koreans are still a fair distance from production of their new missile, too. They might get a couple built, but are still in the prototype stage.

The missile is a definite concern, but even more so is the starvation of N. Korea. Facing a potential revolt, the leadership might well invade S. Korea...having nothing to lose either way...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), July 11, 1999.