US Second Nuclear Submarine Closes At Jeju Island Naval Base, South Korea: Supply Fill

USS Annapolis (SSN 760). (Source: US Navy)

JAKARTA - A nuclear-powered submarine belonging to the United States arrived in South Korea to refill supplies on Monday, after last week ships from the country also docked to the Ginseng Country

The USS Annapolis (SSN-760) which belongs to the family of the Los Angeles Class submarine entered a naval base on Jeju Island, as Seoul and Washington stepped up security coordination amid rising tensions with North Korea, including the launch of Pyongyang cruise missiles at the end of last week.

"The entry to the port is to fill military supplies while carrying out an operational mission," the South Korean Navy said in a text message sent to reporters.

"The Navy of the two countries plans to strengthen the combined defense posture with the arrival of USS Annapolis, and carry out exchange activities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the alliance," the naval said.

Last week, the USS Kentucky (SSBN-737), which is a nuclear missile submarine, docked at the South Korean port. It was the first visit of nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines to South Korea since 1981.

Unlike the USS Kentucky, the USS Annapolis is not nuclear armed. The ship specializes in anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare. Last September, the ship joined trilateral anti-submarine exercises with South Korea and Japan international waters off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.

The visit of the first US nuclear-armed submarine in the past 40 years comes after the US pledged to increase the regular visibility of its main military assets, including submarines, in the Washington Declaration issued by US President Joe Biden and President Yoon Suk-yeol at a meeting last April.