USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives in South Korea as Russia-North Korea security pact deepens regional fears

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A United States military aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea in a show of pressure as Washington, Seoul and Tokyo issued a joint statement on Monday condemning deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia.

The nuclear-powered USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived at the port of Busan on Saturday ahead of trilateral exercises with South Korea and Japan in waters off the peninsula.

The Self-Rule Edge exercise resulted from a note by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the defense chiefs of the United States, South Korea and Japan ahead of his high-profile shuttle visit to Pyongyang. However, the strongly worded joint remarks by the three comrades on Monday presented the seriousness with which they view the “strategic partnership” between North Korea and Russia untouched during Putin’s visit.

But despite signing a defense pact with Kim Jong Un, Putin has linked security on the Korean Peninsula to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, threatening to arm North Korea if South Korea must hand over military backup to Kiev.

The United States, South Korea and Japan “condemn in the strongest terms the deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia,” the joint statement said, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s trusted Topic.

The deepening ties and mutual security agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang “should be of grave concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global nonproliferation regime, and supporting the people of Ukraine. ” “Their freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal aggression,” it said.

The joint remarks came after all three allies one by one expressed deep concern over the pact, with South Korea condemning it and summoning Russia’s ambassador on Friday, an extraordinary diplomatic move that could ease tensions between Seoul and Moscow. it shows.

The aircraft carrier’s presence in Busan has its origin in the form of US military strikes to turn Washington’s “ironclad” stability in South Korea into its personal treaty best friend.

Ahead of the move, U.S. Breeze Power B-1B bombers took part in a live-fire exercise over the peninsula, the first day in seven years that long-range stealth aircraft dropped live munitions on South Korea.

And finally, US Breeze Power AC-130 gunships also conducted live-fire action at the same location where the B-1s had dropped their bombs.

Joint exercises with the United States have long been a source of frustration and anger for North Korea, which has sought a regular cause of action with Putin while pursuing its illegal nuclear weapons program and missile testing under Kim.

Russia, which once supported sanctions on North Korea, has eliminated its veto power at the United Nations to protect Pyongyang from further scrutiny and Putin has gradually promoted Kim’s narrative.

“This confrontational policy on the part of the US to expand its military infrastructure in the subregion has been accompanied by a significant increase in the intensity and scale of military exercises involving South Korea and Japan,” Putin said in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Are hostile toward Korea.” ,

USS Theodore Roosevelt’s visit to Busan marks the second visit to South Korea by a Nimitz-class carrier in seven months. USS Carl Vinson called at Busan in late November.

Hear what was ‘surprising’ about Putin’s North Korea visit?

Roosevelt, with approximately 5,000 employees, carries a wing of more than 60 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornet adversaries.

The presence of the Roosevelt and its provider crash team of supporting warships “reflects the South Korea-US alliance’s solid joint defense posture and strong will to respond to the complex threat from North Korea,” a South Korean military statement said.

Neither the United States nor South Korea will give key points or exact dates for the nearest self-rule edge workout.

However, the three have been running more closely together, including the latest exercises with the armies of the three countries.

The Pentagon provided a clue about the timing of the Self-Rule Edge workout on Sunday, releasing a comment that said Roosevelt would soon leave the Indo-Pacific theater and Heart East would be slated to replace the provider USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Going towards. ,

Eisenhower left the pocket on Saturday after more than seven months of operations that included attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen to provide security to commercial deliveries in the pocket from the Iran-backed team’s missiles and drones.

Roosevelt’s withdrawal from the western Pacific left only one American carrier in the pocket, USS Ronald Reagan, based in Yokosuka, Japan.