An aircraft carrier strike group that the Trump administration had said was headed toward North Korea in a powerful show of force has instead spent the past week thousands of miles away - and heading in the opposite direction. Adm. Harry Harris, who heads U.S. Pacific Command, initially announced in a news release on April 8 that he had directed the Carl Vinson carrier strike group to "sail north" from Singapore, adding that the ships were being diverted from planned port visits to Australia. The Trump administration cited the deployment of the naval strike force, which includes the carrier and four warships, as a clear warning to North Korea, which was said to be planning a nuclear test last weekend in conjunction with a national holiday. “We are sending an armada, very powerful,” to the waters off Korea, President Trump told Fox Business News on April 12. On Sunday, North Korea attempted to test a ballistic missile, but it exploded seconds after launch.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 18, 2017 20:02 UTC