US vessels dock in S. Korea port, increase tensions in the region
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The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan, the USS Chancellorsville, and the USS Barry anchored South Korea, as part of a mutual effort by Seoul and Washington to increase US strategic assets in the region.
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USS Ronald Reagan is escorted as it arrives in Busan, Friday (Yonhap)
For the first time in almost five years, a US aircraft carrier landed in South Korea on Friday ahead of joint drills aimed at the DPRK.
The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan, the USS Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruiser, and the USS Barry, a guided missile destroyer, anchored in Busan, South Korea, as part of a mutual effort by Seoul and Washington to increase US strategic assets in the region.
After years of unsuccessful diplomacy with the DPRK under his predecessor, South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has pledged to increase joint military drills with the US.
A South Korean defense ministry official told AFP that “The deployment of the carrier USS Ronald Reagan to Busan demonstrates the strength of the South Korea-US alliance," adding that the visit intends to “deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats."
The carrier, the cruiser and the destroyer will take part in joint maneuvers near South Korea's east coast this month, according to Yonhap, with the nuclear-powered submarine USS Annapolis also set to take part.
The presence of the aircraft carrier comes amid months of warnings from South Korean and US authorities that DPRK leader Kim Jong Un is planning another nuclear test.
Washington is Seoul's most important security ally, with around 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.
The two nations have long conducted joint exercises, which they claim are strictly defensive, but the DPRK regards them as practice for an invasion.
Last month, the US and South Korea performed their biggest combined military drills since 2018 — the return of large-scale training sessions that had been scaled back due mainly to the pandemic in parallel with the intensifying tensions with Pyongyang.
South Koreans protest against US-Seoul war drills, demanding US out
The magnitude of the US administration's influence over mainstream media is no hoax, notably as there are barely any reports about the thousands of South Korean unionists and supporters who rallied in Seoul's downtown on August 13 to protest against the joint US-South Korea war games.
There's a Western media blackout of protests in South Korea against US military exercises.
— Danny Haiphong (@SpiritofHo) August 18, 2022
PressTV and CGTN have covered them. But we're supposed to believe "state-affiliated" media is propaganda, not the corporate news outlets running interference for empire.
The drills, which are the largest in years, come after the election of incumbent President Yoon Suk-yeol, who promised tougher stances against North Korea. Union leaders, however, have been concerned regarding the risks that come with such policy.
South Koreans held banners demanding that the US leave their land.
Thousands of South Korean progressives and unionists have gathered in downtown Seoul to protest against the joint #US-#SouthKorea military exercises scheduled to begin on August 22.
— AMERICAN WATCHER ☠(@joshuamills044) August 16, 2022
pic.twitter.com/cGjsbG0Hgo
Many South Koreans argue that the US military and Seoul's alliance with Washington prevent the improvement of ties with North Korea, generating further tension.
Read more: DPRK declares itself nuclear weapons state - Reports
