US nuclear-powered submarine arrives at South Korea's Busan port
Ohio-class US nuclear-powered submarine USS Michigan (SSGN 727) arrives at a port in Busan, South Korea, on June 16, 2023.
PHOTO: Reuters
PUBLISHED ONJune 17, 2023 2:10 AM
SEOUL - A US nuclear-powered submarine has arrived at a port in the South Korean city of Busan, the South Korean military said on Friday (June 16).
It is the first time in nearly six years that a submarine classified as SSGN by the US Navy, or a cruise-missile submarine, has stopped off in South Korea.
The arrival comes after North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday and follows a failed attempt by Pyongyang to launch a spy satellite last month.
In April, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden agreed in Washington to "further enhance the regular visibility of strategic assets" on the Korean Peninsula.
The leaders also agreed that a US Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s to help demonstrate Washington's resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack. There was no timetable given for such a visit.
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