US carrier joins South Korea drills; North Korea warns of 'merciless' strikes

Seoul

AS the USS Carl Vinson ploughed through seas off South Korea on Tuesday, rival North Korea warned the US of "merciless" attacks if the carrier infringes on its sovereignty or dignity during US-South Korean drills.

F-18 fighter jets took off from the flight deck of the nuclear-powered carrier in a dramatic display of US firepower amid rising tension with the North, which has alarmed its neighbours with two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since last year.

"While this is a routine deployment for the Carl Vinson strike group, really the centrepiece for us . . . is this exercise we're doing with the ROK navy called 'Foal Eagle'," Rear Admiral James Kilby, commander of the Carrier Strike Group 1, told reporters, referring to South Korea a…