A second US submarine arrives in South Korea amid tensions with Pyongyang

Madrid, July 24 (Europe Press) –

A US-flagged nuclear-powered submarine has arrived at a naval base on South Korea’s Jeju island, days after such a vessel arrived in port for the first time in four decades amid tensions with North Korean officials.

The South Korean Navy said the USS Annapolis submarine entered its naval base in the south of the country: “Its entry into the port was to replenish military supplies while on an operational mission,” according to a report gathered by Yonhap news agency.

The naval news service noted that the ship’s mission was to conduct anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare operations within the framework of joint military exercises to “strengthen the integrated defense posture” in view of the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations between Washington and South Korea.

In June, the USS Kentucky submarine arrived in Busan, 200 miles from Seoul, in what was seen as a move to reassure South Koreans about Pyongyang’s nuclear threats. However, a few weeks later, the North Korean government criticized the Biden administration’s decision to station US nuclear submarines on the peninsula, saying it would increase tensions in the “highly dangerous” region.

A U.S. strategic nuclear submarine carrying nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula will return to the region for the first time since 1981. This is a very dangerous situation that could bring regional military tension to a critical level and practically trigger a worst-case nuclear conflict crisis.