N. Korea warns of boosting nuclear deterrence after US aircraft carrier arrives in South

The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class US aircraft carrier, docked at a key naval base in Busan, a southeastern city, on Sunday as part of Washington’s efforts to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korean threats, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency.

Kim Yo Jong said Monday that if the US continues to "renew its records in the anti-North Korean military demonstration, North Korea will be naturally compelled to renew its records in the exercise of strategic deterrence," state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.

The statement added that North Korea is "planning to carefully examine" actions, warning that the continued deployment of US strategic assets in the Korean Peninsula has become a "vicious habit" that negatively impacts North Korea’s security.

Pyongyang cautioned that its "will and ability" should not be "tested," calling such actions a "very dangerous thing."

North Korea’s nuclear policy, it said, was "adopted in correct reflection of the concern for state's security by the present and future threats," emphasizing that the current situation "highlights the justness, validity and necessity of North Korea’s line on bolstering up its nuclear forces."

This marks the first visit of the USS Carl Vinson to South Korea since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. The nuclear-powered vessel last docked in South Korea in November 2023.