Nuclear-armed American submarines will dock in South Korea for the first time in 40 years

By Dave DeCamp, AntiWar.com

The US will dock nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s in a significant escalation that will raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula and risk provoking a response from Pyongyang.

nuclear submarine

The deployment is part of an agreement announced by President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Washington. The US previously had nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea but withdrew them in 1991.

US officials said the nuclear-armed submarines will only “visit” South Korea and that the US won’t permanently deploy nukes to the country. But under the deal, the temporary deployment of US strategic assets to the peninsula will become much more frequent.

The US and South Korea have also agreed to increase cooperation on nuclear weapons by forming a “consultative group.” According to The New York Timesthe US will give South Korea a role in strategic planning for the use of nuclear weapons in any conflict with North Korea.

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