Nuclear sub USS Kentucky makes first port call in South Korea in four decades

A US nuclear-capable submarine has made port in South Korea for the first time in four decades — days following North Korea’s testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

“As we speak, an American nuclear submarine is making port in Busan today,” Kurt Campbell, the White House Indo-Pacific coordinator, told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday.

Campbell did not identify the submarine by name during his comments to the press — but it was later confirmed to be the USS Kentucky, an Ohio class SSBN (Sub-surface ballistic nuclear), by South Korea’s defense ministry.