A US aircraft carrier and its accompanying strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, arrived at South Korea’s Busan port on Sunday to demonstrate Washington’s unwavering commitment to its alliance with Seoul. This visit, following the carrier’s last trip to Busan in November 2023, comes in the wake of North Korea’s recent strategic cruise missile test and dictator Kim Jong Un’s orders for the military to be ready to use its nuclear arsenal.

The deployment of the USS Carl Vinson is both a show of force likely to provoke North Korea, which often responds with rocket tests, and a reassurance to South Korea amid President Donald Trump’s recent questioning of the military alliance that sees the US stationing around 28,500 soldiers in South Korea. Trump has previously called for South Korea to significantly increase its payments for the American military presence, labeling the country a “money machine.”

The visit also comes amid Trump’s ongoing tensions with Ukraine, raising concerns about the US’s commitment to its allies in Asia, particularly in the face of growing Chinese influence. South Korea has been trying to avoid drawing attention to itself, hoping that divides between the US and other nations will lessen its involvement in potential conflicts. An international relations professor, Dan Pinkston, suggested they may be banking on Trump’s focus on trade wars to overlook them for the time being.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/us-carrier-docks-in-south-korea-after-north-s-missile-tests/a-71797711?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf