North warns of 'rapid first strike' as U.S. carrier arrives in Busan

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier arrives at a naval base in Busan Thursday for a five-day visit. North Korea slammed its deployment through state media on Friday. [NEWS1]

North Korea threatened to stage the "most powerful and rapid first strike" against U.S. strategic assets Friday following the arrival of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the Korean Peninsula.

The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier docked in a Busan port Thursday for a five-day visit in a show of force against North Korea and to highlight U.S. extended deterrence in the region.

Earlier in the week, South Korea, the United States and Japan held a naval exercise in waters off of Jeju Island over Monday and Tuesday, the first trilateral maritime interdiction drill of its kind in seven years.

Pyongyang slammed the arrival of the Reagan as "an undisguised military provocation" that could drive the situation to "irrevocable catastrophic circumstances," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in an English-language report Friday.

It noted that the United States "persists in introducing various nuclear strategic assets into the Korean peninsula where a possibility of constant military collision exists and the danger of outbreak of a nuclear war is rampant."

North Korea's "most powerful and rapid first strike will be given to the 'extended deterrence' means, used by the U.S. to hallucinate its followers, and the basis of evil in the Korean peninsula and its vicinity," the KCNA added.

The carrier strike group's visit was reflective of U.S. commitment to further enhancing the visibility of American strategic assets here, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry, as highlighted in the Washington Declaration announced by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden during their bilateral summit in April.

Seoul and Washington also launched a bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to enhance extended deterrence capabilities against North Korea, based on this declaration.

Pyongyang said the arrival of the nuclear-powered carrier following the launch of the NCG, referring to it as a "nuclear war mechanism," goes to prove a "U.S. scheme for nuclear attack" on North Korea, the KCNA said.

"It is as clear as noonday what result will be brought to the Korean peninsula, where huge armed forces and nuclear weapons are standing in confrontation with one another, even if a spark is produced," it added, warning of consequences should Seoul and Washington go "beyond the red line."

North Korea then warned that "the U.S. should realize that its huge strategic assets have entered the extremely dangerous waters," which could "only lead to a disaster" and a "security crisis."

The USS Ronald Reagan last visited South Korea in September 2022, the first time in four years. The last U.S. aircraft carrier to visit the country was the USS Nimitz in March.

The Reagan carrier strike group plans to conduct friendly exchanges with the South Korean Navy during its stay in Busan.

South Korea also will hold an annual large-scale military drill, the Hoguk field training exercise, from Monday to Nov. 22, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Friday.

The Hoguk exercise involves the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and will conduct training to counter "various threats such as North Korea's nuclear weapons, missiles and drones," the JCS said.

It added that some U.S. troops will also participate to improve interoperability.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]