US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrives in South Korea port

By Reuters November 20, 2023 | 06:50 pm PT

Fighter jets sit on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as it arrives at a port in Busan, South Korea, Nov. 21, 2023. Photo by Yonhap via Reuters

The U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrived at a port in the South Korean city of Busan on Tuesday, in a show of extended deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, South Korea's navy said.

The arrival comes as North Korea plans to launch a rocket carrying a space satellite between Nov. 22 and Dec. 1 in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, according to Japan's Coast Guard.

It would mark a third attempt by the nuclear-armed North this year to put a spy satellite into orbit.

In a statement, South Korean Rear Admiral Kim Ji-hoon said the arrival of the Carl Vinson showed a "strong combined defense posture and a determined willingness to respond to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats" by the South Korea-U.S. alliance.