A US nuclear-armed submarine will visit South Korea soon, US Forces Korea deputy commander Scott Pleus said on Thursday, in what Korean media said will be the first such port call in decades.
"In the near future, you can expect another show of the US commitment to extended deterrence by a port visit by the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine," he told an annual forum co-hosted by news agency and the Korean unification ministry in Seoul.
US President Joe Biden said during a meeting with his Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, in Washington in April that he would send a nuclear submarine to South Korea to enhance the "regular visibility" of US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula.
Lt. Gen. Pleus said the US-South Korean alliance needed to build "greater strategic depth" as the two countries seek to forge a global comprehensive strategic partnership, Yonhap reported.
"As our alliance continues to expand, we will keep building upon our commitments not only to the security of Northeast Asia, but also to a free and open Indo-Pacific and a free and open global commons," he said.