USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Ships To Busan, Sends Message To North Korea?

Photo via @Gipor_76

JAKARTA - A US aircraft carrier will dock in South Korea this week for the first joint drills in about four years.

The USS Ronald Reagan will arrive at the naval base in the southern port city of Busan on Friday, September 23, the South Korean Navy said in a statement.

"By conducting joint exercises, the navies of the two countries plan to strengthen their military readiness and demonstrate the strong determination of the South Korea-US alliance for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," the South Korean military said.

North Korea has denounced previous US military deployments and joint exercises as rehearsals for war and evidence of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul.

The visit would be the first to South Korea by an American carrier since 2018. That year, the allies scaled back much of their joint military activity amid diplomatic efforts to engage with North Korea.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further limited drills until this year, when South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol resumed numerous joint exercises and other displays of military might as a warning to North Korea.

Observers say Pyongyang also appears to be preparing to resume nuclear tests for the first time since 2017.

In April, the USS Ronald Reagan was deployed to the waters between South Korea and Japan for the first time since 2017, and conducted joint exercises with Japanese forces. This time the carrier and her strike group will train with South Korean troops.

On Friday, the United States and South Korea denounced North Korea's first-use nuclear doctrine expressed this month as "escalating and destabilizing" and Washington pledged to continue deploying and using strategic assets to deter and respond to Pyongyang.