U.S. aircraft carrier to make port call in S. Korea this week

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington will make a port call in South Korea this week for a regular visit, the U.S. military command in Seoul said Tuesday.
The nuclear-powered carrier and its strike group, based in Yokosuka, Japan, will arrive Wednesday in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan with about 7,000 sailors for a regular exchange with the South Korean Navy, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement.
The port call is "a tangible symbol of U.S. commitment in the region and shows the continued interest in ensuring a climate for regional stability and economic prosperity," the statement said.
It will be the first time this year that the 97,000-ton carrier visits South Korea. Last November, the George Washington led the allies' joint naval drills in a show of force following the North's shelling of the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong.



Along with the carrier, the guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens, and the guided-missile destroyers USS Mustin and USS Wayne E. Meyer are also scheduled to visit Busan, according to the statement.
The Wayne E. Meyer, homeported in San Diego of the U.S., is on a routine deployment to the Western Pacific, the statement said.
Separately, the guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur and USS McCampbell are due to arrive in the South's western port of Pyeongtaek, it said.
The George Washington has an operational range of 1,000 kilometers. Aircraft aboard the carrier include the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the F/A-18A/C Hornet, the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and the P3-C antisubmarine surveillance aircraft.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
kdh@yna.co.kr
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