US nuclear aircraft carrier arrives at S Korea's Busan port city

Seoul [South Korea], November 5 : US nuclear aircraft carrier, George Washington, arrived at the naval base in South Korea's largest port city of Busan on Wednesday, state media Yonhap reported.

The move the news outlet said is a "reaffirmation of the South Korea-US combined defence posture."

The nuclear powered vessel of Carrier Strike Group 5 is accompanied by a missile cruiser, USS Robert Smalls and USS Milius and USS Shoup Aegis.

The visit is intended to replenish supplies and rest the crew, South Korea's Navy said.

South Korea's Navy said it "plans to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the Navies of the two countries, as well as enhance defence capabilities on the occasion of the arrival of the Fifth Aircraft Carrier Group."

This is the first port call of an American aircraft carrier under South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who won the election in June.

Previously in March this year, the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson had visited the Busan port.

On October 28 Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi and along with the US President Donald Trump, President visited the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Yokosuka.

Meanwhile US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in his visit to South Korea earlier this week praised Seoul's plans to raise defence spending and confirmed that US troops based in South Korea could be used to face regional threats.

Hegseth addressed a press conference alongside his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back, said that Washington will make interagency efforts "in a deliberate manner" to help fulfill a pledge by US President Donald Trump for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines in a US shipyard.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had asked US President Trump during their APEC summit meeting last week to allow Seoul to secure nuclear fuel supplies for conventionally armed submarines to track North Korean and Chinese vessels better, saying it would ease the operational burden for US forces.

Yonhap reported that Trump, in a social media post, said that he has given South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine (SSN)at a Philadelphia shipyard, run by South Korea's Hanwha Ocean.

South Korea has said that it remains committed to the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Its defence minister Ahn Gyu-back said following talks with Pentagon chief Hegseth that, "South Korea joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, so we will not develop nuclear weapons,"

South Korea and US routinely hold joint military exercises with the last exercise held in August this year.

North Korea is critical of the appearance of US American aircraft carriers at South Korean naval bases. Yonhap reported in March this year after the visit of USS Carl Vinson to Busan that the sister of North Korean leader Kim Yo Jong termed the move as "a manifestation of the greatest hostility."

North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear arsenal and missile capabilities over the years. Pyongyang has also also continued to strengthen its relationship with Russia, including by supplying Russia with weapons for use against Ukraine and deploying additional troops to the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive in August 2024.

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