Tensions on the Korean peninsula continue to rise

Tensions on the Korean peninsula continue to rise after a US nuclear armed submarine docked in South Korea on Tuesday, a major provocation aimed at North Korea.

The docking of the USS Kentucky an Ohio class submarine in the South Korean port of Busan marks the first time since 1981 that a US nuclear armed submarine has arrived in the country.

Since US nuclear armed submarines can covertly patrol waters anywhere in the world and have long range missiles, docking one in South Korea has no strategic value, exposing the move as nothing more than a blatant provocation of Pyongyang by the Biden administration.

The move is, in all likelihood, meant to send a stern message to China.

US President Joe Biden agreed to deploy a nuclear armed submarine to South Korea in April, when the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, visited Washington.

The two leaders also agreed to increase cooperation on nuclear deterrence and established the U.S.-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which held its first meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Tuesday.

China and North Korea have, time and again, criticized the group’s formation as further increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Protesters staged a rally against the NCG meeting in front of the presidential office. The demonstrators carried signs that read “dismantle NCG” and “opposition to the deployment of nuclear submarines”.

The meeting was led by South Korean Deputy National Security Director, Kim Tae-hyo, and Kurt Campbell, Biden’s top Asia official on the National Security Council.

The group released a statement following the meeting emphasizing that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States, or its allies, is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime.

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, said on Monday that the US deployment of a nuclear-armed submarine would make diplomacy even less likely, and warned the North was ready to resolutely counter any violations of its sovereignty.

North Korea has strongly condemned the agreement to deploy US nuclear assets in South Korea, as the two sides start talks to coordinate their responses in the event of a nuclear war with the North.

Last week, the North Korean Defense Ministry denounced the presence of a US nuclear missile capable submarine in Korean waters warning that its deployment to the Korean peninsula may incite the worst ever nuclear conflict.

North Korea has vowed to respond proportionally to the agreement reached recently between the South and the United States allowing the deployment of American nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula.