"US Nuclear Submarine's Appearance on the Korean Peninsula
Further Escalates Military Tensions"
The US Navy's nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) USS Alexandria has arrived in Busan, prompting a protest from North Korea on the 11th. North Korea stated, "Our armed forces are closely monitoring the appearance of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula," and added, "We are prepared to use any means necessary to safeguard the nation's security and regional peace."
A spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of Defense said in a statement published in the Rodong Sinmun on the same day, "The public appearance of a US nuclear submarine in the Korean Peninsula region for the first time this year is a concentrated expression of America's confrontation madness against North Korea, and an unstable factor that further escalates the military tensions in the region."
Earlier, the USS Alexandria, an SSN of the US Navy, docked at the Busan operational base the previous day for resupply and crew rest. The USS Alexandria is a Los Angeles-class submarine, the main attack nuclear submarine of the US Navy, with a displacement of about 6,000 tons. This is the first time the USS Alexandria has entered a domestic port.
The spokesperson warned, "The United States is blatantly ignoring our security concerns," and expressed "serious concern over the hostile military actions by the US that could push the acute military standoff around the Korean Peninsula into an actual armed conflict," urging the US to "cease provocative acts that cause further instability."
He also stated, "We will not yield an inch in the confrontation with the arrogant enemy," and declared, "The Republic's armed forces will carry out deterrent actions against the sources threatening the regional security environment and will not hesitate to exercise their legitimate right to punish provocateurs."
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