The USS Abraham Lincoln aicraft carrier led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defence artillery at Osan air base intensified drills, U.S. forces in Asia said on Tuesday amid signs of an imminent North Korean long-range missile test.
Tension on the Korean Peninsula has been growing amid speculation North Korea could test its largest intercontinental ballistic missile at full range as soon as this week, after threatening to break a self-imposed 2017 moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear testing.
"DPRK's significant increase in its missile testing activity undermines peace, security and destabilises the Northeast Asia region," USFK said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. On Friday, Washington and Seoul said in a rare joint announcement that North Korea had used its largest-ever ICBM in two recent launches. Pyongyang said the launches were conducted as preparations for a satellite launch.Those launches did not demonstrate the missile's full range, and analysts said the North might have used only one stage of the missile or adjusted its fuel volume to fly at lower altitudes.