US Aircraft Carrier South Korea Stop Irks North Korea

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived at the southern port city of Busan in South Korea on Sunday as a show of force against North Korea, South Korea’s navy said.

It is the first U.S. aircraft carrier to dock at a South Korean port since U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term in office began in January.

The visit was part of the “ironclad” commitment of the United States to extended deterrence and to show readiness by the military alliance between Seoul and Washington against North Korea, according to the South’s navy.

The move obviously irked North Korea. North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, criticized the Trump administration for stepping up “provocations” and said it justified the nuclear state increasing its nuclear deterrent, state media KCNA said. Kim denounced the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson’s visit to South Korea on Sunday, saying the action was part of a “policy of confrontation” against North Korea. “As soon as its new administration appeared this year, the U.S. has stepped up the political and military provocations against the DPRK, ‘carrying forward’ the former administration’s hostile policy,” Kim said, according to Tuesday’s KCNA report.

The nuclear-powered vessel belonging to Carrier Strike Group One was joined by the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and the USS Sterett,a guided-missile destroyer, it said.

“Clearly our presence here in Busan shows the strong alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States, and our opportunity to train and operate together with our allies,” U.S. Rear Admiral Michael S. Wosje, Commander of Carrier Strike Group One, said .

“Every opportunity we have to sail together and fly together makes us stronger together,” Wosje added in comments to media.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test launch of strategic cruise missiles last month and ordered full readiness to use its nuclear attack capability, according to state media.

It marks the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier has called at the country since June, when the USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Busan to take part in joint military exercises.

The USS Carl Vinson last visited Busan in November 2023.

Pyongyang has typically lashed out at the deployment of such U.S. military assets in South Korea.Trump held unprecedented summits with North Korean leader Kim during his first term and has touted their personal rapport.

The U.S. president has said he would reach out to Kim again, though the North’s state media has not commented on this suggestion and has continued to condemn what it views as the grave security threat posed by Washington and its allies.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Ed Davies)