President Yoon Suk-yeol uses the periscope of the USS Kentucky (SSBN-737) while inspecting the vessel’s interior on July 19 after it docked in a key South Korean naval base in Busan. (courtesy of the US Navy)
For the first time in 42 years, a US Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), capable of carrying nuclear weapons, has made a port call in Busan. This prompted North Korea to launch two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea early on Wednesday. Later in the day, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol inspected the USS Kentucky (SSBN-737), alongside South Korean and US naval commanders. This marked the first time a South Korean president has visited a US strategic asset deployed within the country.North Korea appears set to continue its shows of force ahead of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement that paused the hostilities of the Korean War on July 27, a holiday known as “Victory Day” in the North. South Korea and the US, on the other hand, are responding to North Korea’s moves by deploying American strategic assets to the peninsula, leading to escalating tensions all around.
President Yoon Suk-yeol tours the interior of the USS Kentucky (SSBN-737) on July 19 after it docked in a key South Korean naval base in Busan. (courtesy of the US Navy)
