S. KOREA-U.S. JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE

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A carrier strike group brought by the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is to arrive in Busan on Friday for joint military exercises with Seoul. The allies plan to demonstrate powerful deterrence against North Korea's provocations, such as a possible seventh nuclear test, by beefing up their strategic assets

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USS Ronald Reagan has a deck measuring more than 300 meters long. It can carry more than 80 aircraft, such as the F-18, and over five thousand crew members. Its size is large enough to measure up against the entire air force of a single country. The carrier is to arrive at the Busan Naval Base on Friday along with a carrier strike group, which includes Aegis ships and cruisers. The carrier will arrive in Busan for the first time since Oct. 2017, which was a month after North Korea's sixth nuclear test. The move is in line with the agreements concluded at the Seoul-Washington summit back in May and the defense ministers' meeting held in July, where the allies agreed to deploy U.S. strategic assets in a timely and coordinated manner. At the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group meeting held last week, the two countries signed a joint statement stipulating an effective deployment of strategic assets to deter Pyongyang.

[Soundbite] Colin Kahl(U.S. Under secretary of defense for policy (Sept. 16)) : "As President Biden has said, the U.S. commitment to the ROK is ironclad. We will continue to demonstrate our unwavering commitment..."

The carrier strike group will participate in a joint military drill in the East Sea along with the South Korean Navy. The exercise comes three months after a joint drill held in international waters near Japan in early June. The apparent goal of the exercise is to send a warning to Pyongyang that it will face a strong and firm response if it proceeds with a seventh nuclear test.

[Soundbite] Kim Seung-kyum(Joint Chiefs of Staff) : "We will strengthen combined defense by bolstering actual joint drills, which include expanded field training as part of combined exercises."

With Seoul and Washington determined to bolster the operation of strategic assets, large-scale joint military exercises will likely be held more frequently from now on.