SEOUL, 25 Feb. (Yonhap) — A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has arrived in South Korea for a scheduled visit, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Saturday, in an apparent show of force and a warning to North Korea against provocation.
The 6,000-ton Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield docked at the naval base in the southern port city of Busan for a “scheduled port visit”, it said in a message on social networks, without revealing the time of arrival.
This photo, provided by the U.S. Pacific Fleet on February 25, 2023, shows the fast attack nuclear submarine USS Springfield arriving at the naval base in the southern port city of Busan in South Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The USS Springfield, deployed in Guam, “regularly operates in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, conducting maritime security operations and supporting national security interests,” the post said.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet leaked photos of the warship hanging Allied national flags on the turret wall and South Korean navy crew members greeting the arrival.
The rare revelation of the submarine’s deployment in the South appears intended to send a stark warning to North Korea about the repeated missile provocations.
North Korea has strongly protested against the American deployment of its strategic assets in the Korean peninsula and the combined exercises of the allies.
The national flags of South Korea and the United States are attached to the turret of the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Springfield February 25, 2023, upon arriving at the naval base in the port city of Busan, in southern South Korea, for a planned visit, in this photo provided by the U.S. Pacific Fleet. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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#nuclear #submarine #arrives #Busan
