US considers deployment of massive aircraft carrier off Korean Peninsula

US considers sending carrier to Korea

WASHINGTON — U.S. defense officials say they may deploy the massive aircraft carrier USS George Washington off the Korean Peninsula in the Yellow Sea, where North Korea allegedly sank a South Korean warship.

The deployment would be a show of force by the U.S., which has vowed to protect South Korea and is seeking to blunt aggression from North Korea. An international investigation last month blamed North Korea for torpedoing the Cheonan warship in March, killing 46 sailors.

U.S. officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Wednesday that a final decision on deployment of the nuclear-powered carrier was likely by the end of the week.