North Korea Opposes US Aircraft Carrier, Continues Missile Provocations?

Threats Targeting USS Ronald Reagan Arriving at Busan
Missile Launches During Past US Aircraft Carrier Arrivals

North Korea has threatened to directly attack the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) in response to its port call in Busan. Considering that North Korea has previously launched ballistic missiles targeting U.S. aircraft carriers, there are growing concerns that missile provocations may occur soon.

On the 13th, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated in a commentary, "Our most powerful and swift first strike will be directed not only at the 'extended deterrence' measures that the U.S. uses as a 'hallucinogen' for its followers but also at the nests of evil established on the Korean Peninsula and its surroundings."

The agency claimed, "The very act of bringing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier group, which advertises that it can fight a war, into the waters of the Korean Peninsula indicates that the U.S.'s nuclear attack plans and execution against Korea have entered the most serious phase of systematization and realization, and that the outbreak of nuclear war is becoming a reality."

It continued, "Our nuclear use doctrine permits the necessary procedural actions if a nuclear weapon attack on the state is carried out or judged to be imminent," implying that nuclear weapons could be used in response to the U.S. aircraft carrier.

North Korea's strong reaction is interpreted as a threat that it could attack not only the USS Ronald Reagan, which arrived in Busan on the 12th, but also U.S. military bases in South Korea and Japan. The Ronald Reagan is scheduled to remain in Busan until the 16th, showcasing the extended deterrence provided by the U.S. and the combined defense posture of South Korea and the U.S. Past incidents suggest a high possibility of provocations by North Korea during this period.

On March 27, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea. The missiles were analyzed to be the North Korean version of the ATACMS (KN-24), known as a representative new weapon aimed at South Korea. The military viewed this as targeting the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which was scheduled to enter the Busan operational base after conducting joint naval exercises with the South Korean Navy in international waters of the South Sea the following day.

On September 26 of last year, North Korea also launched the North Korean version of the Iskander (KN-23) using a vehicle-mounted transporter erector launcher (TEL). The missiles were fired from the Taechon area in North Pyongan Province toward the East Sea, with a flight distance of about 600 km. Analysts suggested that this was aimed at the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), which had entered the Busan operational base three days earlier after completing the first combined South Korea-U.S. naval exercises in five years in the East Sea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.