US Moves Second Warship Near Korean Peninsula Amid Tensions

The U.S. is deploying a second guided-missile destroyer to the Asia-Pacific region, Reuters reports.

The USS John McCain will join the USS Decatur off the Korean peninsula. Both are Aegis-class warships, meaning they're capable of intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles "above the atmosphere during the midcourse phase of a hostile ballistic missile's flight."

Officials told Barbarra Starr CNN that the moves were meant to monitor North Korea's military moves, including possible new missile launches.

On Monday NBC reported that the USS Fitzgerald, another guided missile destroyer, would be moved to the area but is now reporting that the Fitzgerald was only among the ships under consideration for the deployment.

As we noted yesterday, the presence of F-22 stealth fighters and warships near the Korean peninsula serve as deterrents to Pyongyang’s alleged attack plan (to target four U.S. cities) in addition to demonstrating American capabilities should the need for intervention arise.

The officials told Reuters that a floating, X-band radar was not being deployed to the region, contrary to Starr's report that a Defense Department official said the U.S. deployed a SBX-1 radar to monitor the North.

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