Washington [US], April 12 (ANI/Sputnik): The nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln is conducting exercises in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, this week with the Japanese navy to demonstrate a show of strength and deterrence, US 7th Fleet Deputy Public Affairs Officer Lt. Mark Langford told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is conducting bilateral operations with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sea of Japan. Routine bilateral operations like this one, reassure our allies and partners of the US commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific," Langford said when asked to confirm reports that the USS Abraham Lincoln will enter international waters in the East Sea as a show of force against any potential provocations from North Korea.

Langford added that the United States' training enhances the credibility of conventional deterrence by demonstrating the strength of its bilateral partnerships.

South Korean Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln would enter international waters in the East Sea this week as a show of force to deter possible provocations from North Korea, but a spokesperson for US Forces Korea declined to comment on the report "as a matter of operational security."The decision on sending the warship was made amid fears of new missile launches by North Korea in anticipation of the 110th birth anniversary of its late founding leader Kim Il-sung on Friday and the founding anniversary of the North Korean People's Revolutionary Army on April 25, according to Yonhap.

On March 24, North Korea conducted its twelfth missile launch since the beginning of 2022, deploying a new Hwasong-17 ICBM toward the Sea of Japan. According to media reports, Pyongyang may soon conduct a nuclear test. (ANI/Sputnik)