Kim Yo Jong, deputy director of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, sharply criticized the USS Carl Vinson’s arrival in Busan, describing it as a clear demonstration of the United States’ most hostile and confrontational intentions. She warned North Korea is seriously considering options to enhance its strategic-level deterrent actions in response.
According to the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, Kim issued a statement accusing the U.S. of habitually engaging in provocative acts that disregard safety concerns and escalate regional tensions.
She claimed that the U.S. is rapidly deploying strategic assets, including the Carl Vinson and the nuclear submarine, USS Alexandria, on the Korean Peninsula. She noted that upcoming U.S.-Japan-South Korea maritime exercises and the Freedom Shield joint military drills would further intensify the U.S.’s hostile policy toward North Korea.
Kim strongly condemned the “reckless and showy actions” of the U.S. and its allies. She argued that these actions provide North Korea with ample justification to continue strengthening its nuclear deterrence capabilities without limit.
She emphasized, “We will not simply sit back and comment on the situation. If the U.S. continues to set new records in military displays of power, we will inevitably have to set our records in exercising our strategic deterrence.” She warned sternly: “They should not test our will and capabilities.”
Analysts suggest that Kim’s statement may also be an attempt to gauge the new U.S. administration’s response by criticizing the Trump administration’s North Korea policy.
The USS Carl Vinson, the third Nimitz-class aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy, arrived in Busan on Sunday. It was accompanied by the cruiser USS Princeton and the Aegis destroyer USS Stethem, all part of the same carrier strike group.
This deployment marks the first entry of a U.S. aircraft carrier into South Korean waters in about eight months and the first since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.