US Aircraft Carrier Arrives in South Korea

Facts

• Theodore Roosevelt, the US' nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, arrived in Busan on Saturday to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan.¹
• The drills, called Freedom Edge, would reportedly ensure that the three nations are 'ready to respond to any crisis or contingency.' They will include anti-submarine warfare and air defense exercises.²
• At a Camp David summit last August, US Pres. Joe Biden, South Korean Pres. Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to hold annual military training exercises.³
• The carrier's arrival comes a day after Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could send arms to North Korea if the US and its allies, including South Korea, continue to supply weapons to Ukraine.⁴
• Also, on Friday, Seoul summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the recent Russian-North Korean defense pact and demand that Moscow cease military cooperation with Pyongyang.⁵
• Meanwhile, North Korean troops briefly crossed the demarcation line in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone — established at the end of the Korean War — but retreated after South Korea's military fired warning shots.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Reuters (a), ³Reuters (b), ⁴BBC News, ⁵Associated Press and ⁶Dw.Com.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times. The US and its allies have been forced to step up their military exercises to cope with Russian and North Korean threats to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. Theodore Roosevelt's arrival is part of an international effort to project unity in the face of Putin's threat to supply weapons to North Korea and advance its nuclear and missile technologies.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global Times. The three-nation reckless military drills off North Korea's coasts are an attempt to blackmail and threaten a sovereign state and are akin to rehearsals for an invasion. While the US cites North Korean 'threats' as a pretext for its military presence in the region, it's clear its sole intention is to encircle, contain, and encroach China and Russia.

Predictions