The South Korean military reports that a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has docked at a port in the city of Busan, South Korea.
It has been over six years since a cruise-missile submarine, designated as a “SSGN” by the US Navy, made a port call in South Korea.
The arrival follows Pyongyang’s unsuccessful effort to launch a spy satellite last month and comes after North Korea launched two short-range missiles on Thursday off its east coast.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and United States President Joe Biden agreed in April in Washington to “further enhance the regular visibility of strategic assets” on the Korean Peninsula.
The leaders also agreed that a nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) from the United States Navy will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s to underscore Washington’s determination to safeguard the country from a North Korean attack.