×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Thursday
17
Sep 2026
weather symbol
Athens 23°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days After White House Threat

Trump said he was “sending an armada” to the Korean Peninsula, but that didn’t happen

Newsroom April 19 08:25

Δείτε περισσότερα άρθρα μας στα αποτελέσματα αναζήτησης

Add Protothema.gr on Google

When U.S. officials claimed two weeks ago that an American aircraft carrier was heading toward waters near North Korea, it was actually sailing in the opposite direction, The New York Times and Defense News report.

Amid growing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, U.S. Pacific Command announced on April 8 that the USS Carl Vinson strike group would sail north to the western Pacific after departing Singapore that day. An American official told Reuters at the time that the ships’ move toward the Korean Peninsula was a show of force directed at the regime of Kim Jong Un.

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told Fox News the next day that the group was being rerouted from Singapore toward the Korean Peninsula as a “prudent” show of force.

Mere days after the announcement about the strike group’s new course, President Donald Trump weighed in on the North Korean threat. “We are sending an armada, very powerful. We have submarines, very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier,” Trump told Fox on April 12.

“We have the best military people on Earth. And I will say this: He is doing the wrong thing,” Trump added, referring to Kim Jong Un.

But Defense News pointed out on Tuesday that photos released by the U.S. Navy showed the aircraft carrier passing through the Sunda Strait in Indonesia, about 3,500 miles from the Korean Peninsula, last Saturday. It was moving away from North Korea when U.S. officials said it was moving toward the peninsula, the Times confirmed on Tuesday.

The ship has changed direction since then, but is expected to arrive far later than initial reports suggested.

CNN’s Jim Acosta tweeted that an administration official blamed the mix-up on a miscommunication. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

North Korea has recently ramped up work on its nuclear program, hoping to develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the United States. Trump has vowed to “solve” the North Korean problem, but is facing few good options to confront the threat.

Pyongyang test-fired missiles during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the U.S. in March, and again on April 4 ahead of a visit to the U.S. by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following the April launch, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released a three-sentence statement acknowledging the launch: “The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment,” it read.

Tensions further escalated in the runup to April 15, the 105th anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Experts warned that Pyongyang might conduct a missile test. Satellite imagery at the time indicated that Pyongyang might have been preparing for a sixth nuclear test in addition to a massive military parade.

While North Korea did end up test-firing a missile on Sunday, the projectile exploded almost immediately after launch.

>Related articles

“I talk to them all the time; it helps me overcome the pain”: The father of the three children killed by Lindsay Clancy is heartbreaking

Nikos Maziotis Released from Prison: First Images of His Exit from Domokos

Secret US-Houthi meeting in Oman: Group pledges not to attack American ships in the Red Sea

Following the launch, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump would take a more aggressive stance against Pyongyang than previous administrations.

“We’re going to abandon the failed policy of strategic patience. But we’re going to redouble our efforts to bring diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea. Our hope is that we can resolve this issue peaceably,” Pence told CNN.

Source

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#North Korea#usa#USS Carl Vinson
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Theodoropoulos and Gaka refused to provide information about the patient – The EKAB document that “damns” the doctors in the Mazonakis case

September 18, 2026

“I talk to them all the time; it helps me overcome the pain”: The father of the three children killed by Lindsay Clancy is heartbreaking

September 17, 2026

Marc Poll: New Democracy rises to 31%, 15-point lead over second-place Tsipras, PASOK at 11.5%

September 17, 2026

The “Citizen-Soldier” is coming: Conscripts will defend their home area – What is changing in military service with “Agenda 2030”

September 17, 2026

Turkish Culture Minister confirms the existence of a 9-km tunnel beneath Hagia Sophia

September 17, 2026

Mitsotakis: Announcements on heating oil next week – It will open Below €1.75 – Across-the-board increase in the allowance

September 17, 2026

Kyriakos Mitsotakis to meet with Konstantinos Tasoulas on Friday & Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at noon

September 17, 2026

“I took advantage of her drug addiction, she didn’t die for nothing because she was paid”: Testimonies in the trial over the explosion outside a bank in Thessaloniki that left one woman dead

September 17, 2026
All News

> Greece

In reverence, the emotional deposition in Jerusalem, see photos & video

The Holy Temple of the Resurrection opened after many days due to the war between Israel and Iran

April 10, 2026

In the final stretch for the accreditation of joint master’s degrees: Aiming for their launch in the coming academic year

April 10, 2026

Schedule for Epitaph Procession today (10/4)

April 10, 2026

Perfect weather for Easter excursions, according to Tsatrafyllia’s forecast

April 10, 2026

Easter in Greece: The customs that continue in Greek tradition – From Nafpaktos to Corfu

April 10, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα