Power move: A view of the aircraft carrier, during a goodwill visit in Manila, Philippines. — Reuters
The US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is due to dock at the South Korean port of Busan, as Seoul warned of a greater threat from North Korea and held joint maritime drills with the United States and Japan.
The carrier, which is expected to dock tomorrow and remain in Busan until Oct 16, will strengthen the defence posture of South Korea and the United States in case of any North Korean provocations, South Korea’s defence ministry said.
The Ronald Reagan last visited South Korea in 2022 for the first time in about four years, joining other military vessels in a show of might intended to send a message to North Korea.
North Korean state media KCNA yesterday criticised the deployment of US strategic assets, including submarines and bombers, in the Asia-Pacific region while defending its plans for a spy satellite programme as “indispensable”.
Pyongyang has failed twice to place a spy satellite in orbit, in May and August, and has vowed to try again as early as October.
South Korea’s defence minister Shin Won-sik told reporters yesterday that South Korea faces a more severe threat from North Korea, according to news agency Yonhap.
The visit of the carrier comes after the United States pledged to enhance the “regular visibility” of its strategic military assets in the Washington Declaration, which President Yoon Suk Yeol and US leader Joe Biden issued during a summit in April.
The South Korean and US navies held joint maritime drills with Japan’s defence force near South Korea’s Jeju Island, the South Korean navy said.
The drills, which are the first of their kind since 2016, are aimed at deterring and responding to North Korea’s “advancing nuclear and missile threats”, the navy said in a statement.
A meeting was also held on the carrier on Sunday, attended by South Korea’s Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Kim Myung-soo and his US and Japanese counterparts, to discuss countermeasures to Pyongyang’s “underwater threats” as well as its nuclear and missile programmes. — Reuters
