North Korea fired a pair of short-range ballistic missiles late Monday and early today local time. It was the country's second missile launch in less than a week.
The news comes as the United States has taken a new approach: publicly announcing the presence of its submarines in the region.
For the first time in more than 40 years, U.S. Strategic Command announced a U.S. ballistic missile submarine was in South Korean waters.
The USS Kentucky was docked in Busan, last week. On Monday, the USS Annapolis pulled into Jeju Island with a very public arrival ceremony. The Kentucky is an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.
The U.S. Navy said that means it can “serve as an undetectable launch platform for intercontinental missiles.”
The subs are nicknamed “Boomers” and the Navy notes “they are designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads.”
The Annapolis is a Los Angeles class “fast attack submarine” — nuclear-powered; armed with Tomahawk Cruise missiles, without nuclear weapons.
For a little more than a year, it's been based in Guam, when it was moved closer to East Asia from its previous port of San Diego.
The target audience for the public submarine movements: North Korea — with a specific timetable in mind.
Thursday marks the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un often marks military anniversaries with military displays.
