It was belatedly known that submarine commanders from Korea, the U.S., and Japan boarded a U.S. nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) together.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense Video Information Distribution System (DVIDS) on the 4th, Lee Soo-yeol (Admiral), Navy Submarine Commander, Rick Shipp, the 7th Submarine Flotilla Commander (Commodore), and Tawara Tateki (俵千城), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Submarine Commander. On the 18th of last month, they boarded the US Navy SSBN ‘Main’ (SSBN-741), which was operating near Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
This is the first time that submarine commanders from Korea, the U.S. and Japan have boarded the US SSBN together.
Regarding the boarding of the US SSBN, Commander Lee said, “This year marks the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance, which is the cornerstone of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.”
Commander Tawara said, “I am confident that as mutual understanding between the commanders of the submarine forces of the three countries deepens, the alliance with the United States will also be strengthened.”
“(SSBN) provides an important, reliable and highly effective element of the US nuclear deterrence,” Schiff said.
The US Navy’s ‘Ohio’ class (8750 ton class) SSBN can carry 20 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) equipped with low-power tactical nuclear warheads. These SSBNs, along with strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), constitute the ‘nuclear triad’ of the United States.
President Yoon Seok-yeol and US President Joe Biden revealed plans for US military SSBNs to call in Korea in the’Washington Declaration’ announced on the occasion of the Korea-US summit on the 26th of last month (local time).
On the 25th of last month, the day before the Korea-US summit, the US Pacific Fleet Command also released a photo of the ‘main’ ship deployed at the US naval base in Guam on social media (SNS).
In the midst of this, some observe that the SSBN of the US Navy will call in Korea from this month at the earliest.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.