The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group is expected to arrive in the Sea of Japan "within a matter of days," U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday amid tensions with North Korea.
"Our expectation is that they will be in the Sea of Japan, in position, in a matter of days, before the end of this month," Pence said during a joint news conference in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Days earlier, there had been widespread confusion over the whereabouts of the Vinson-led strike group. The navy said it had initially been scheduled to visit Australia for port calls, but was rerouted on April 8, reportedly toward waters off the Korean Peninsula in a signal to the nuclear-armed North designed to deter it from further atomic and missile tests.