| Advertisement |
Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The USS Ronald Reagan is to dock at the South Korean island of Jeju in October, according to a South Korean press report. News 1 reported Thursday the biggest U.S. warship based in Asia could arrive in South Korea for joint exercises.
Advertisement
Last week U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis had said joint drills with Seoul would no longer be suspended, following lack of progress on North Korea denuclearization.
"From Oct. 10 to 14, the USS Ronald Reagan will participate in the 2018 Republic of Korea international naval review, and for this purpose will enter Jeju," a South Korea military source said, according to News 1.
In addition to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the United States may send about three to four other warships, including destroyers and cruisers.
The USS Ronald Reagan is capable of transporting dozens of military aircraft, including the F/A-18 Super Hornet, EA-6B Prowler and E-2C Hawkeye.
The carrier, permanently docked in Yokosuka, Japan, last entered South Korea in October 2017, after conducting joint exercises around the peninsula.
The South Korean navy has said there are no immediate plans to carry out joint maritime training.
North Korea is holding back from agreements to completely denuclearize, and state media has called for the signing of an end-of-war declaration with the United States.
A South Korean delegation met with Kim Jong Un on Wednesday and delivered a letter from the South's Moon Jae-in.
Seoul's national security advisor Chung Eui-yong discussed a date for the next inter-Korea summit, according to Newsweek.
