US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea

After North Korea announced that it was preparing to launch a military satellite into space, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier of the US Navy arrived in South Korea.

According to Yonhap, Rear Admiral Kim Ji-hoon, Director of the Maritime Operations Center of the South Korean Naval Forces Command, announced that the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier has docked at the military base in Busan.

Rear Admiral Kim emphasized that “the arrival of the US Navy aircraft carrier to the military base in Busan is a concrete indicator of the defensive position of the South Korea-US alliance against North Korea’s nuclear threats.”

It was noteworthy that the aircraft carrier arrived at the military base in Busan after North Korea announced that it was preparing to launch a military satellite into space within 9 days.

On the other hand, USS Carl Vinson, which last arrived in the country in 2017, became the third US aircraft carrier to arrive in South Korea this year.

South Korea is closely watching the North as it prepares to launch a satellite

South Korean Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu stated at today’s press conference that the ministry is closely monitoring North Korea as it prepares to launch a military satellite.

Jeon emphasized that North Korea would “clearly violate” UN Security Council resolutions if it launched a military satellite, and called for it to be stopped immediately.

North Korea’s military satellite launch attempts

North Korea attempted to launch a military satellite on May 31, but the attempt failed due to a malfunction in the carrier rocket system. The Pyongyang administration described this attempt as the “most serious mistake” in the first half of the year.

North Korea announced that the satellite would be launched again “correctly” in a short time, despite international condemnation.

The Pyongyang administration made its second satellite launch attempt on August 23, but announced that it also failed.