SEOUL, South Korea – The US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan concluded a naval exercise with South Korea in the Philippine Sea on Saturday, the two militaries said, amid signs that North Korea is possibly preparing to conduct its first nuclear test explosion since 2017.
The three-day exercise that began Thursday in international waters off the Japanese island of Okinawa was apparently the allies´ first joint drill involving a US aircraft carrier since November 2017, AP reported.
The Ronald Reagan then joined the USS Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz in a rare three-carrier exercise with South Korean naval vessels during North Korea´s last provocative run in nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
The latest drill came weeks after President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in a summit in Seoul vowed to upgrade defense exercises and discuss ways to for Washington to protect its ally in the face of growing North Korean threats.
The US Navy´s 7th Fleet said that the exercise was aimed at strengthening the interoperability of the two navies.
On Friday, Biden´s special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, said Washington is “preparing for all contingencies” in close coordination with South Korea and Japan as it monitors North Korean arrangements for a possible nuclear test that could be imminent.
