U.S. Deploys 2nd Warship As NKorea Tensions Rise

[HuffingtonPost]

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is  deploying a second guided-missile destroyer to the Asia-Pacific  region, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, as fears mount over  North Korea's threats of war.                

The United States is walking a difficult line, trying to  avoid escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula while also  taking steps to reassure allies in Seoul and Tokyo of American  military capabilities to respond to any moves by Pyongyang.                

U.S. defense officials announced on Monday that the USS John  McCain, an Aegis-class guided-missile destroyer used for  ballistic missile defense, was being put into position to  operate off the Korean peninsula.                

U.S. officials confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that another  destroyer, the USS Decatur, was en route toward the region to  provide ballistic missile defense options. No further details  were given.                

The officials denied reports that a floating, X-band radar  was being deployed to the waters off Japan, saying no decisions  had been made about what would be done with the radar once  at-sea testing in the region was finished. The radar is used to  track an adversary's missiles as part of a missile defense  system.                

News of the latest U.S. move to bolster missile defenses  around the Korean peninsula came as North Korea said on Tuesday  it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce  bomb-grade plutonium.                

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the crisis  over North Korea had gone too far and he appealed for discussion  and negotiation. "Nuclear threats are not a game. Aggressive  rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions,  and fuel fear and instability," Ban, a South Korean, told a news  conference during a visit to Andorra.       (Reporting by Phil Stewart. Editing by Warren Strobel and  Jackie Frank)

Via: HuffingtonPost