US carrier to join army drill off SKorea: report

SEOUL: A U.S. aircraft carrier will join a U.S.-South Korean military drill in waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, a local news agency said on Wednesday, quoting the South Korean Defense Ministry.

North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at a South Korean island on Tuesday, killing two South Korean soldiers and setting houses ablaze in the heaviest attack on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.

The nuclear-powered USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of over 6,000, left Yokosuka U.S. Naval Base south of Tokyo on Wednesday morning. The U.S. Seventh Fleet said its departure had already been scheduled.