Fearing North Korea's ballistic missile launch, the US sent the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Missouri to Busan.

The South Korean Ministry of Defense announced that a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea on December 17.

The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Missouri. (Source: US Navy)

According to the South Korean Navy, the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN-780) entered the key naval base in Busan, 320 km southeast of Seoul, earlier that morning.

“With the deployment of the USS Missouri, we plan to enhance naval exchanges and cooperation with the United States and strengthen our common defense posture,” the statement said.

The move comes just three weeks after the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Santa Fe (SSN-763) entered Jeju Naval Base on the southern resort island of South Korea.

Earlier this week, Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo raised the possibility that North Korea could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in December when he visited Washington to attend a meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a US-South Korea meeting held to discuss strategic planning and nuclear weapons issues.

The last time North Korea test-fired the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM was in July 2023.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/lo-trieu-tien-phong-ten-lua-dan-dao-my-gui-tau-ngam-tan-cong-lop-virginia-uss-missouri-den-busan-254203.html