US aircraft carrier just arrives in Busan in South Korea for Drills with locals armies.

An American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a trilateral exercise involving Japan, as they intensify their military training to address North Korean threats, which have escalated following a security pact with Russia.
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An F-18 fighter jet is located in the hangar of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, anchored at the naval base in Busan, South Korea, on Saturday, June 22, 2024. ( Picture source : Song Kyung-Seok)

The arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group in Busan comes a day after South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest a major agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from June 19 to 21.

The agreement includes mutual defense assistance in case of war. South Korea states that the pact poses a threat to its security and has warned that it might consider sending weapons to Ukraine to aid in combating the Russian invasion, a move that would surely ruin its relations with Moscow.

Following a meeting between their defense chiefs in Singapore in early June, the United States, South Korea, and Japan announced the Freedom Edge exercises. The Roosevelt carrier strike group will participate in the exercise, expected to start in late June. The South Korean military has not immediately confirmed the specific details of the training.

Rear Admiral Christopher Alexander, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, stated that the exercise aims to refine the tactical skills of the ships and enhance interoperability among the navies of the countries to ensure that they are prepared to respond to any crisis and contingency.

The South Korean navy said in a statement that the arrival of the aircraft carrier demonstrates the strong defense posture of the allies and "the firm will to respond to the increasing North Korean threats." The visit of the aircraft carrier comes seven months after another American carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, arrived in South Korea in a show of force against the North.

The Roosevelt strike group also participated in April in a trilateral exercise with South Korean and Japanese naval forces in the contested East China Sea, where concerns about China's territorial claims are increasing.

Faced with escalating North Korean threats, the United States, South Korea, and Japan have expanded their combined training and enhanced the visibility of American strategic military assets in the region, seeking to intimidate the North. The United States and South Korea have also updated their nuclear deterrence strategies, with Seoul seeking stronger assurances that Washington would quickly and decisively use its nuclear capabilities to defend its ally against a North Korean nuclear attack.