US VP says aircraft carrier Carl Vinson steams toward Sea of Japan

SYDNEY -- US Vice President Mike Pence said here on Saturday that an aircraft carrier strike group led by USS Carl Vinson was steaming toward the Sea of Japan.

"Our expectation is that they will be in the Sea of Japan in position in a matter of days, before the end of this month," he told a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

USS Carl Vinson has continued to steam toward the Korean Peninsula, after confusion from the Trump administration earlier this week as to the location of the aircraft carrier.

Earlier on Saturday, the US Navy confirmed reports of a pilot ejecting from his F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet while making an attempt to land on the aircraft carrier, which was at that time located in the Celebes Sea, just south of the Philippines.

Pence met with Turnbull and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop early in the day for talks, in which he told Turnbull "the (US) President wanted me to be here early in this administration to reaffirm the strong and historic alliance between the United States of America and Australia."