American nuclear submarine off the coast of Korea

A US nuclear submarine has been sent to South Korea as the first outcome of a controversial defense deal between Seoul and Washington. The South Korean president ended his trip to America last Sunday. Yoon Seok-yeol stated that the main reason for the trip was to increase the containment of the so-called "North Korean threat".

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that an Ohio-class nuclear submarine would enter South Korea. It will be a model SSBN (nuclear ballistic missile submarine) of the Ohio class. But that's all I can say," Ryder said. He emphasized that he would not go into details about the specific payload of the submarine.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden promised the DPRK "the disappearance of the North Korean regime" if Pyongyang launched a nuclear attack on the US and its allies. Prior to this, US media reported that the US would send its nuclear submarines to the shores of South Korea. CNN clarifies that the new agreement of the countries is aimed at "deterring the aggression of North Korea", it includes a commitment from Washington to station nuclear submarines in South Korea for the first time in 40 years.

Recall that on April 26, South Korean leader Yoon Sok-yeol held talks with Biden in Washington. The American president said that he had discussed with his interlocutor cooperation on strengthening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and beyond. Both leaders reaffirmed their “common commitment to support the people of Ukraine.”

Some critics have taken Washington's recent statement as a sign of South Korea's weakness and as an expression of the Korean president's unquestioning obedience to US hawks.
Pyongyang considers these steps the basis for the escalation of militarism, the arms race and instability on the Korean Peninsula. But the US and South Korea continue to conduct joint exercises in the region, despite warnings from the DPRK.