U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is escorted as it arrives in Busan, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (Kang Duck-chul/Yonhap via AP)By HYUNG-JIN KIMA U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Thursday in a demonstration of strength against North Korea, as the North’s leader reaffirmed his push to bolster ties with Russia. The USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group came to the southeastern South Korean port of Busan after participating in a trilateral South Korean-U.S.-Japanese maritime exercise earlier this week, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. It’s the first arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in South Korea in six months since the USS Nimitz docked at Busan in late March, the statement said. Such concerns flared after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia’s Far East last month to meet President Vladimir Putin and inspect key weapons-making facilities.
