The American nuclear-powered submarine of the Virginia class, the Missouri, has arrived in the South Korean city of Busan. This was reported by the Yonhap news agency, citing the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea.
The South Korean side indicates that thanks to the submarine’s visit, it plans to strengthen exchanges and cooperation to enhance joint defence capabilities.
In November 2022, the US Navy’s Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine Santa Fe arrived at a naval base on the South Korean island of Jeju.
This week, the Deputy Director of the National Security Office of the President of the Republic of Korea, Kim Tae-hyo, stated that North Korea could conduct the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in December.
In July, North Korea conducted its most recent test firing of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.
In October, the head of a group of retired crewmembers of naval submarines made a request for South Korea to purchase a nuclear-powered submarine to counteract the new tactical nuclear assault submarine that North Korea had developed.
During a seminar held in western Seoul, the chief of the Korea Submarine League, Ret. Vice Adm. Lee Hong-hee, made a statement in which he pointed out the dangers that were posed by the North Korean submarine Hero Kim Kun Ok, which was presented to the public during a launching ceremony at the beginning of September.
It poses a significant threat if it can leave port and launch missiles underwater. The most efficient response is for the South Korean submarine to conceal itself outside the enemy’s port, after which it will track down the enemy and destroy it in an emergency. According to him, South Korea needs a submarine equipped with a limitless supply of energy to continue its underwater surveillance and tracking activities operations.
A spokesperson from the Korea Submarine League clarified that Lee was talking to nuclear-powered submarines, which do not need to be refuelled regularly like diesel-powered submarines that South Korea is currently operating.
