US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint exercise

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived at the South Korean port of Busan ahead of joint military exercises between the two countries aimed at demonstrating their prowess against the growing North Korean threat.

The joint exercise will be the first for U.S. aircraft carriers in the region since 2017, when the United States sent three aircraft carriers, including the USS Ronald Reagan, to conduct naval exercises with South Korea in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

This year, the allies resumed large-scale military exercises that had been scaled back or put on hold in previous years in support of diplomacy with Pyongyang or because of Covid-19 – in response to the increased threat of North Korea’s resumption of major weapons tests and a nuclear conflict with Seoul and Washington.

The South Korean navy said the training was aimed at improving the military readiness of the allies and showing “the ROK-U.S. alliance’s firm resolve for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.”

Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly said: “The commitment of the U.S. carrier strike group to operate on and around the peninsula demonstrates our commitment to unity, as well as our desire and focus to ensure that we can interoperate and integrate so that when the need arises, face any challenge or threat,” the carrier strike group commander said at a news conference.

The North Korean threat is also expected to be a key agenda item when U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visits South Korea next week after attending the state funeral of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.

The USS Reagan’s arrival in South Korea comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a rubber-stamp parliament in Pyongyang this month that he would never give up the nuclear weapons and missiles he needs to counter what he sees as U.S. hostility.

North Korea also passed a new law establishing its status as a nuclear power and authorizing the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons in a wide range of situations where the country or its leadership is threatened.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said Kim Sung, the Joe Biden administration’s special representative for North Korea, met with his South Korean counterpart, Kong Eun, in Seoul on Thursday, and they expressed “serious concerns” about North Korea’s escalating nuclear doctrine enshrined in the new law.

Diplomats reiterated the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea with its full military capabilities, including nuclear, in the event of a nuclear war.

The allies also maintained their assessment from months ago that North Korea was preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, and discussed a “draconian” response to such an action, the ministry said.

North Korea ramps up weapons testing to a record pace in 2022, launching more than 30 ballistic weapons, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) since 2017, as it takes advantage of the UN Security Council’s war on Russia against Ukraine Differences on the issue deepened.

While North Korea’s ICBMs have drawn widespread attention in the United States because of their potential threat to the U.S. mainland, North Korea has also been expanding its arsenal of nuclear-capable, short-range missiles designed to evade South Korea’s missile defenses.

North Korea’s expanding nuclear arsenal and the threat of a pre-emptive nuclear attack have raised concerns in South Korea about the credibility of the U.S. “nuclear umbrella” to protect its allies in the event of war.

Conservative South Korean President Yoon Se-yeol, who took office in May, has vowed to bolster South Korea’s conventional missile capabilities and work with the Biden administration to develop a more effective strategy to deter North Korean attacks.

Senior U.S. and South Korean officials met in Washington this month to discuss allies’ deterrence strategies and issued a statement reiterating that “any (North Korea) nuclear attack will be met with an overwhelming and decisive response.”

The United States reaffirmed “its firm and unwavering commitment to use its full military capabilities, including nuclear (one),” to provide greater deterrence to South Korea, the statement said.

North Korea has so far rejected calls by the U.S. and South Korea to resume nuclear diplomacy, which has stalled since 2019 amid disagreements over the exchange of U.S.-led sanctions against North Korea and steps to disarmament North Korea.

North Korea has sharply criticized Mr. Yoon for continuing military exercises with the United States, and also letting South Korean civilian activists fly balloons across the border with anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and other “dirty garbage”, even skeptically claiming the items contributed to its Covid-19 outbreak.

Activists in South Korea continued to launch balloons after North Korea warned of “lethal” retaliation last month, sparking fears that North Korea could conduct weapons tests or even skirmishes on the border.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, asked activists to stop, citing security concerns.

South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Lee Hyo-jung also said on Friday that South Korea was prepared to respond harshly to any North Korean retaliation against the leaflets.