The USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group arrived in South Korea on Saturday amid rising tensions with North Korea and the communist nation’s recent security agreement with Russia.
The U.S. aircraft carrier will take part in a joint military training exercise with South Korea and Japan, according to The Associated Press.
South Korea’s navy told the AP in a statement that the USS Theodore Roosevelt’s presence demonstrates a “stern willingness to respond to advancing North Korean threats,” as well as the United States’ commitment to support South Korea.
Rear Admiral. Christopher Alexander said the joint drills show the allies “are ready to respond to any crisis and contingency.”
READ MORE: Largest US aircraft carrier deployed near Israel
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said President Joe Biden’s administration is taking the new agreement between North Korea and Russia “quite seriously.”
“And I will say it’s one of the reasons why we have been prioritizing strengthening our ties with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific throughout this administration, including through the historic trilateral agreement we had with the Republic of Korea and Japan, through AUKUS, through other work because of the potential for deepening cooperation between these two countries,” Miller told reporters.
Last week, Putin said Russia’s agreement with North Korea “provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Reuters reported.
“In connection with this, Russia does not exclude for itself the development of military-technical cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Putin added.
