Nuclear-Powered U.S. Aircraft Carrier to Join Drills with S.Korea

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln will enter the East Sea this week to take part in drills with South Korean forces.

The U.S. aircraft carrier, which is currently in the East China Sea, is expected to arrive in the East Sea around Friday.

It seems to form part of a show of force amid fears that North Korea will launch a provocation to coincide with regime founder Kim Il-sung's 110th birthday on Friday, either a fresh launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile or a seventh nuclear test.

In November 2017 when the regime's nuclear and missile provocations were at their peak, the U.S. sent a warning message to the North by deploying no fewer than three aircraft carriers in the East Sea.

The Lincoln, a 100,000-ton Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is 332.85 m long and 40.84 m wide and carries about 80 aircraft, including F-35C stealth fighter jets. The carrier strike group also includes smaller nuclear-powered submarines and Aegis destroyers.

It will remain in international waters for about five days before it joins South Korea-U.S. naval drills.