Source: Yonhap
Yonhap news agency reported, quoting an informed source, that the US strategic nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS Kentucky left South Korea on Friday.
Yonhap said that this comes 3 days after the submarine’s rare visit to a port in the southeastern city of Busan, in a major show of force against the evolving “North Korean military threats”. The nuclear submarine arrived at the base on Tuesday.
The source added that the USS Kentucky, an Ohio-class submarine weighing 18,750 tons, departed before noon Friday from a naval base in the city, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, while its destination remains unknown.
The US ballistic missile submarine’s first visit to South Korea since 1981 came after the US pledged to promote “regular appearances” of its major military assets, including this submarine, in the Washington Declaration made by Presidents Yoon Seok-yul and Joe Biden during their summit in April.