The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrived at a key naval base in the southeastern city of Busan on Sunday, South Korea’s Navy said, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence against continued North Korean threats.

The nuclear-powered vessel of Carrier Strike Group 1 entered the naval base in Busan, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in what marked the first such visit by a U.S. aircraft carrier to South Korea since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, reports Yonhap news agency.

Advertisement

It was also accompanied by the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and Aegis-equipped destroyer USS Sterett, according to the South’s Navy.

The Navy described the visit as part of efforts to implement an “ironclad” U.S. extended deterrence pledge, which Washington recently reaffirmed, and display the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defence posture against persistent North Korean threats.

The allies will seek to bolster their interoperability and hold friendly activities between their naval forces on the occasion of the visit, it added.

“Our military will powerfully retaliate against any North Korean threat, and the South Korea-U.S. alliance will support peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region through close cooperation,” Rear Adm. Lee Nam-gyu, director of the maritime operation center at the ROK Fleet, was quoted as saying.

ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea.

“The Carl Vinson’s carrier strike group operations demonstrate our commitment to bolster the defense of allies and partners, and strengthen our ability to ‘fight tonight and win.'” Brunson was quoted as saying as he observed flight operations aboard the flight carrier the previous day.

“This visit, especially when coupled with realistic all domain, joint and combined training, increases interoperability and ensures we build the readiness posture to deter aggression and maintain stability in the Republic of Korea and the region,” the USFK commander said.

The USS Carl Vinson last visited South Korea in November 2023, just hours before North Korea successfully placed its first military spy satellite into orbit after two failed attempts.

The latest visit comes about eight months after the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier visited Busan to take part in the inaugural Freedom Edge multidomain exercise conducted among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan in June last year.