North Korea said the rocket would fly south, likely over open waters of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

WSJ: U.S. Warns North Korea Over Rocket Launch

The group made the border crossing Saturday in the Yellow Sea off the west of the Korean peninsula, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said this week.

CNN: South Korea won't return 9 defectors from the North

South Korea has strengthened its rules of engagement in the Yellow Sea.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington and Seoul had been thinking of sending the mighty George Washington into the Yellow Sea soon after the March 26 sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean frigate, by torpedo.

FORBES: Challenging Bullies In The Yellow Sea

Her name is the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, and she has recently been deployed to the Yellow Sea, west of the Korean Peninsula, to begin joint military exercises with South Korea.

FORBES: SPIRIT OF FREEDOM-What the Conflict on the Korean Peninsula Means to the World Economy

Today, the Pentagon announced that the George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was on its way to the Yellow Sea for four days of drills with South Korea.

FORBES: Challenging Bullies In The Yellow Sea

Similarly, the latest North-South talks were heralded by a short but deadly exchange of fire in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea.

ECONOMIST: Another Korean crisis?

But they come just days after the United States and South Korea carried out their own joint military exercises, putting on a show of force in the Yellow Sea.

BBC: US-Japan naval drills start as N Korea tensions rise