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US nuclear-powered submarine arrives in South Korea amid North provocations

  • Arrival of Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield would serve as Washington’s extended deterrence commitments to Seoul, analyst notes
  • US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier also expected to participate in the allies’ springtime combined exercise

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The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield in Busan on Saturday for a scheduled port visit. Photo: US Pacific Fleet
The Korea Times
South Korea and the United States have stepped up deterrence efforts against North Korea’s mounting threats, recently stoked by its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with their latest warning coming over the weekend ― the arrival of a US nuclear-powered submarine in Busan.
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In addition, the allies conducted a tabletop exercise on responding to possible North Korean nuclear attacks last week. A US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is also expected to participate in the allies’ springtime combined exercise, scheduled to begin in the middle of next month.

According to the US Pacific Fleet on Saturday, the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield arrived in Busan for a scheduled port visit earlier that day.

“The USS Springfield is one of five Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines forward-deployed to Guam and routinely operates in the US 7th Fleet area of operations, conducting maritime security operations and supporting national security interests,” it said on its Facebook.

The rare disclosure of the submarine’s deployment to the Korean peninsula seems intended to send a strong warning to North Korea following repeated missile provocations. The Kim Jong-un regime launched a Hwasong-15 ICBM on February 18, believed to be capable of hitting targets anywhere on the US mainland.

“The arrival of the US nuclear-powered submarine would serve as Washington’s extended deterrence commitments to Seoul,” said Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

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“A nuclear-powered submarine is a weapon system that can covertly approach and subdue any North Korean submarine, so I think it can be another level of warning to North Korea,” Shin added.

On Thursday, South Korea and the US conducted their eighth Deterrence Strategy Committee Table-Top Exercise, also known as DSC TTX, at the Pentagon in Washington DC.

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