Trump's Navy 'Armada' Was Actually Sailing Away from NKorea, Not Toward It

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier is still several thousand miles south of North Korea despite reports last week that claimed it was heading to the volatile region.

Stars and Stripes reported Monday that the Carl Vinson strike group was actually making its way toward Australia last week for a planned port visit.

The Navy posted photos online showing the ships sailing near Indonesia over the weekend, which put the flotilla roughly 3,500 miles away from North Korea.

Several news reports last week claimed the Carl Vinson and several ships that accompany it were steaming toward the Sea of Japan to keep a close eye on North Korea. The White House even said that was the case.

After the Navy's image of the ships spread across the internet, the narrative changed.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Department of Defense got its timeline wrong and announced the Vinson's deployment to the Korean peninsula too early. It's not clear why that was not corrected, although military officials don't make a habit out of giving away the position of its ships across the world.

According to Stars & Stripes, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement the visit to Australia was scrapped.

"The Carl Vinson Strike Group cancelled a previously planned port visit to Australia and is continuing on track for all assigned missions in the Western Pacific," the statement reads.

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