US Aircraft Carrier to Arrive in Busan Wed.

The U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington will dock at the port of Busan Wednesday, the Pentagon said Monday.

In a briefing aboard the E-4B, the airplane of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the USS George Washington (97,000 tons) is set to arrive this week in the nation’s southern port city of Busan.

The George Washington will participate in the first South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise to be staged as part of follow-up measures to the Cheonan sinking, the spokesman said.

Gates arrived in Seoul Monday for a four-day visit and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was set to get there Tuesday. They are expected to discuss joint countermeasures to North Korea’s provocations after the sinking in a "2+2" meeting of foreign and defense ministers Wednesday.

Gates is expected to give words of encouragement to U.S. forces in South Korea while visiting Camp Casey in the northern Seoul suburb of Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province. He will also offer flowers and pay tribute to the victims of the Korean War and the Cheonan sinking at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul.

According to the Pentagon spokesman, the aircraft carrier and the Carrier Strike Group will hold a reception with key South Korean figures in Busan Wednesday to Sunday and an onboard tour before taking part in the joint exercise in the East Sea after Sunday.

In October 2008, the George Washington took part in a bilateral military exercise in the Yellow Sea while visiting Busan.

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