NEWSMAX | Published March 2, 2025
A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Sunday in a show of force, days after North Korea test-launched cruise missiles to demonstrate its counterattack capabilities.
The arrival of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group at the South Korean port of Busan was meant to display a solid U.S-South Korean military alliance in the face of persistent North Korean threats, and boost interoperability of the allies’ combined assets, the South Korean navy said in a statement.
It said it was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to travel to South Korea since June.
The deployment of the carrier is expected to infuriate North Korea, which views temporary deployments of such powerful U.S. military assets as major security threats. North Korea has responded to some of the past deployments of U.S. aircraft carriers, long-range bombers and nuclear-powered submarines with missile tests.
Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy. North Korea hasn’t directly responded to Trump’s overture but alleged U.S.-led hostilities against North Korea have intensified since Trump’s inauguration.
North Korea said Friday it test-fired strategic cruise missiles earlier last week to inform its adversaries of its military’s counterattack capability and the readiness of its nuclear operations. After watching the launches, the North’s fourth missile testing event this year, Kim said the military must be fully ready to use its nuclear weapons
Experts say Kim won’t likely accept Trump’s overture anytime soon as he is now focusing on his support of Russia’s war against Ukraine with provision of weapons and troops. They say Kim could consider resuming diplomacy with Trump when he thinks he cannot maintain his country’s current booming cooperation with Russia
Kim and Trump met three times from 2018-19 during Trump’s first term to discuss the future of North Korea’s nuclear program. Their high-stakes diplomacy eventually collapsed due to wrangling over U.S.-led economic sanctions on North Korea.
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SOURCE: www.newsmax.com
RELATED: N. Korea showcases ‘counterattack’ abilities with new missile tests
North Korea said on Friday it had tested strategic cruise missiles to warn its enemies of its “counterattack” capabilities and readiness of its nuclear might. The test-launch came as neighbouring South Korea prepares for its “Freedom Shield” military exercises with the US next month.
This picture taken on February 26, 2025 shows a strategic cruise missile during a drill by the Korean People’s Army, on the coast of the “West Sea of Korea”, or Yellow Sea, in North Korea. © STR, AFP
FRANCE 24 | PublishedFebruary 28, 2025
North Korea carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea this week, in a drill Pyongyang said Friday aimed at showing off its “counterattack” capabilities.
Leader Kim Jong Un was at the exercise, which took place on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The missiles flew for 130 minutes and travelled at a 1,587 kilometre-long (986 mile-long) trajectory before they “precisely hit the targets”, according to KCNA.
Pyongyang said the drills were aimed at warning nuclear-armed North Korea‘s enemies of its “counterattack capability in any space and the readiness of its various nuke operation means”.
Images in North Korean state media showed Kim, flanked by officials, sporting binoculars and watching a missile destroy a small building, which erupts in flames.
Attending the drill, Kim said it was the responsibility of North Korea’s nuclear forces to “defend the national sovereignty and security”.
“Powerful striking ability,” he said, served as “the most perfect deterrence and defence”, KCNA reported.
Analyst Yang Moo-jin said the test could have served as a “stepping stone to check the readiness for nuclear operation”.
Pyongyang accused North Korea’s enemies of “seriously violating the security environment” as well as “fostering and escalating” confrontation.
KCNA did not say where the test took place, but specialist website NK News said it likely took place near the city of Nampho, roughly 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the border with South Korea.
‘Modern warfare’
Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.
Joint South Korea-US “Freedom Shield” military exercises are set to kick off next month, Seoul said this week according to the Yonhap news agency.
Those drills enrage Pyongyang, which claims they are a rehearsal for an invasion and often carries out missile tests in response.
The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
North Korea last conducted such a test in January, when it said it had launched sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles – Pyongyang’s first since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
US and South Korean intelligence also believe that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to fight against Ukraine and has since suffered hundreds of casualties.
On Thursday, South Korean intelligence told AFP that Pyongyang had dispatched more troops to Russia, though it could not give a precise figure.
It also said North Korea had redeployed soldiers to the frontline in Kursk, where Ukraine previously said they had been withdrawn following heavy losses.
This week, Kim visited a major military academy, urging his troops to harness the “actual experiences of modern warfare”, according to state media.
Neither North Korea nor Russia has officially confirmed that Pyongyang’s forces are fighting for Moscow.
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