A US nuclear-powered submarine on Friday made a port call at a city in southeast South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported Friday.
The Ohio-class submarine USS Michigan (SSGN-727) arrived at Busan, South Korea’s southeastern port city, earlier in the day. It was the second port call of the US submarine to the South Korean port city.
The nuclear-powered submarine is capable of carrying about 150 Tomahawk missiles, according to Yonhap.
It replaced another US submarine, the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Tucson (SSN 770) that had stayed in Jinhae, a city in South Korea’s southeastern region, on Oct. 7-11.
The US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan was expected to arrive at South Korea in the near future as the South Korean navy announced the joint maritime drills with the US navy next week.
The joint exercise will be conducted from next Monday to Friday in the eastern and western waters of South Korea, mobilizing the US aircraft carrier and its accompanying battleships including destroyers and guided missile cruisers.
The deployment of US strategic military assets to South Korea came amid the heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) sixth nuclear test in September.
