U.S. aircraft carrier heads back to Korean peninsula USS Carl Vinson heads to Sea of Japan

 -- The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson strike group is heading back to the waters east of the Korean peninsula after completing a port visit to Singapore. The carrier and three other ships will head there as tensions remain high about North Korean missile tests and a possible underground nuclear test.

"Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, has directed the Carl Vinson Strike Group to sail north and report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean after departing Singapore April 8," said a U.S. Navy press release.

The release said the strike group "will operate in the Western Pacific rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia."

According to a U.S. official the Vinson, two destroyers and a cruiser received orders this week to head to the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula.

The strike group consists of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) the guided missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57).

The strike group arrived in Singapore on April 4 after completing a two-week stay in the waters off the Korean peninsula, where it participated in the annual "Foal Eagle" military exercise conducted by South Korea and the United States.

Tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula as North Korea has conducted four missile launches this year and U.S. officials have said it appears another North Korean underground nuclear test could occur at any time.