"Those who would challenge our resolve or readiness should know, we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response,” Vice President Mike Pence says. | Getty Pence: Misstatements about U.S. aircraft carrier location not intentional

Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that misstatements about the location of a U.S. aircraft carrier supposedly on its way to the waters off the Korean peninsula were not made intentionally.

Earlier this month, White House and Pentagon officials announced that the USS Carl Vinson and its accompanying battle group had been deployed off the coast of the Korean peninsula, a response to a missile test by North Korea. But on Monday, Defense News reported that the Carl Vinson was nowhere near the Korean Peninsula and had instead been photographed near Indonesia.


Reporting that the Carl Vinson had not immediately turned north toward the Korean Peninsula was corroborated by The New York Times, Reuters and others, leaving government officials in the awkward position of having to explain why the aircraft carrier had not been deployed as initially described.

Asked during an interview with CNN whether the misstatements from White House and Pentagon officials had been intentional, Pence replied “Oh, I think not,” and he noted the already strong U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, including in Japan and South Korea. He did not offer an explanation as to why government officials had said the Carl Vinson was steaming for the Sea of Japan when it was not.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the Carl Vinson episode “more than embarrassing” for the U.S.

“Because, of course, if the provocation of saying that caused the North to react and we didn’t have our capabilities in the region, that would compound the problem,” he said on “CBS This Morning,” where he framed Pyongyang’s potential to miniaturize a nuclear device and put it on an intercontinental ballistic missile as “probably the most serious national security crisis this president is gonna face.”

“That point will probably come during this four-year term of the president, so that challenge is coming if something doesn’t change,” he warned.

Pence’s CNN interview took place aboard another aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, at the U.S. Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay. There, according to The Associated Press, the vice president addressed the Ronald Reagan’s crew, reiterating to them what he and other White House officials have said in recent days, that the U.S. would “work diligently” with allies to maintain and increase pressure on North Korea but that the military would remain ready.

"The United States of America will always seek peace, but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready," he said. “Those who would challenge our resolve or readiness should know, we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response.”

Nolan D. McCaskill contributed to this report.