USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrives in Busan in show of force
Baku, November 21, AZERTAC
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrived at a naval base in the southeastern city of Busan on Tuesday, South Korea's Navy said, hours after North Korea notified Japan of a plan to launch a space rocket in the coming days, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The nuclear-powered vessel of Carrier Strike Group 1 entered the naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in a show of U.S. military might amid heightened tensions over North Korea's plan to launch the rocket between Wednesday and Dec. 1.
It would mark Pyongyang's third such attempt this year after two botched attempts to put a military spy satellite into orbit in May and August, respectively, and would come despite South Korea's warning Monday to stop preparations for the launch.
"The U.S. Carrier Strike Group 1's visit demonstrates the South Korea-U.S. alliance's solid combined defense posture and firm resolve to respond to advancing North Korean nuclear and missile threats," Rear Adm. Kim Ji-hoon, director of the maritime operations center at the ROK Fleet, was quoted as saying.
ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea.
The USS Carl Vinson, which last visited South Korea in 2017, is the third U.S. aircraft carrier to visit the country this year, following the USS Nimitz's arrival in March and the USS Ronald Reagan in October.
The visits came as Washington seeks to bolster its defense commitment to South Korea against evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
In April, the United States pledged to further enhance the "regular visibility" of its strategic assets to South Korea in the Washington Declaration issued by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Seoul's defense ministry said it is monitoring the possibility of North Korea carrying out the rocket launch on the first day of its planned launch window, citing the timing of the previous launches this year.
"On the first and second attempts, the launches took place on the first day (of the launch window), specifically in the early morning," Jeon Ha-kyou, the defense ministry's spokesperson, said in a regular briefing.
"We are looking into that possibility (for the upcoming launch), while we will also need to look at the weather situation."
North Korea notified relevant countries and the International Maritime Organization of planned launches on six occasions between 2009 and this year. North Korea conducted a launch on the first day in three cases, followed by two cases on the second day and a single case on the third day.
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