 At the same time, in the early morning of July 23, the Japanese had taken control of the Royal Palace in Seoul and imprisoned King Gojong, forcing him to renounce ties with China.Planning to strengthen their forces in Korea, the Imperial Japanese Navy redeployed the main component of the Combined Fleet to Korean waters, since the ships stationed there at the time, , and , were considered insufficient to prevent Chinese reinforcements from landing at Asan, and, in the event of hostilities breaking out, would not be able to provide support to Japanese troops on the Korean peninsula.Consequently, on July 23, fifteen major warships and seven torpedo boats, under the command of Vice-Admiral Itō, left Sasebo and headed for Gunsan on the western coast of Korea.