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Another U.S. submarine docks in South Korea

A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea on Monday, only days after the first U.S. nuclear armed submarine made port in the country in four decades, as the two allies seek to boost American strategic assets to deter North Korea.

Anadolu Agency & Reuters WORLD
Published July 24,2023
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This handout photo taken on July 24, 2023 and provided by the South Korean Defence Ministry shows the USS Annapolis arriving as South Korean soldiers wave flags at a naval base in South Korea's southern island of Jeju. (AFP Photo)

Another nuclear-powered U.S. submarine, the second in a week, docked in South Korea on Monday.

According to the South Korean Navy, USS Annapolis, a Los Angeles-class submarine, docked at a naval base in the country's southern island of Jeju on Monday, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

It comes amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula as Seoul boosted its relations with the U.S. and Japan and held regular off and on-shore drills in the region.

North Korea has itself ramped up missile launches, threatening a pre-emptive strike.

It fired multiple cruise missiles on Saturday into the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean Peninsula, according to Seoul.

The South Korean Navy said the USS Annapolis has arrived "for replenishment purposes."

"Its entry into the port is to replenish military supplies while on an operations mission," the navy said in a text message sent to journalists.

The key mission of the USS Annapolis "is to conduct operations for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare."

Last week on Tuesday, the USS Kentucky docked in Busan port, 320 kilometers (198 miles) southeast of Seoul. It left South Korea on Friday.

It was the first time since 1981 that any U.S. nuclear-powered submarine had visited the region.