US show of force to deter North Korea

A US aircraft carrier and other warships are heading to the Yellow Sea in a show of force by Washington to deter Pyongyang from further attacks after North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island in the area.

The deployment of the USS George Washington, which carries 75 fighter jets, is likely to spark protests from Beijing and Pyongyang. The Yellow Sea sits between the Korean peninsula and China.

Washington said it would start joint naval exercises with Seoul on Sunday after the bombardment of Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday killed four people, including two marines, and injured more than a dozen soldiers and civilians.

“This exercise is defensive in nature,” the US military said on Wednesday. “While planned well before yesterday’s [Tuesday’s] unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the strength of the Republic of Korea-US alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence.”

US officials stepped up calls on Wednesday for China to use its influence on Pyongyang, while the state department labelled the artillery attack as a “one-off premeditated act”. It added: “Without getting into intelligence matters, we don’t see that North Korea is preparing for an extended military confrontation.”

Barack Obama, US president, and Lee Myung-bak, his South Korean counterpart, highlighted the two countries’ solidarity and practical steps to improve co-operation in a phone call initiated by Mr Obama. The men agreed to hold “combined military exercises and enhanced training in the days ahead”, according to the White House.

The US is reacting not just to this week’s attack, but also to news of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility that could produce fissile material to add to its existing stockpile of plutonium.

The Obama administration insists it will stick to its course of “strategic patience”, which requires North Korea to take steps towards giving up its nuclear capacity before formal, multilateral negotiations can begin.

Military might compared

But former President Jimmy Carter argued in an article published in the Washington Post on Wednesday that the US should consider a North Korean offer of direct, bilateral talks.

In Seoul, members of parliament and the domestic media have attacked Mr Lee’s governmentfor responding to the bombardment with the same restraint it showed after North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, in March, killing 46 sailors. They asked why Seoul did not deploy its jet-fighters and whether it needed to change its rules of engagement.

Mr Lee, wearing a military-style jacket in public appearances, has threatened to strike back at North Korea if it attacks again. But some lawmakers argue that he said the same thing after the Cheonan was torpedoed.

Then, South Korean won international praise for holding his nerve at that time and not plunging Asia’s fourth-biggest economy into war. In the case of the sinking of the Cheonan, pressure for military retaliation was lessened by widespread public doubts that Pyongyang was responsible.

Kim Tae-young, defence minister, said he had considered using fighter jets, but had feared the risks of war breaking out. The rules of engagement were “under review”, he added.

Seoul said on Wednesday it would suspend aid to the North and cancel cross-border family reunions. Pyongyang reacted by accusing Seoul of driving the peninsula to the “brink of war” with “reckless military provocation” and by postponing humanitarian aid.