Experts: This is why the United States is sending a nuclear submarine to South Korea

An American Ohio-class nuclear submarine will be sent to South Korea. It was announced by the United States through the unveiling of the “Washington Declaration” earlier this week. According to the Americans, this is one of the most powerful measures since the Cold War. The deployment of the nuclear-armed submarine follows a long series of weapons tests by North Korea, which neighbors South Korea.

The type of submarine the United States plans to send to the region is the so-called “stealth submarine” which would be extremely difficult for potential adversaries to detect. Why would the United States choose to announce the submarine’s public location in the future and thus reduce some of the submarine’s ability to remain hidden? Reverse CNN Experts point out possible causes.

Ex-Officer: It gives North Korea an advantage

The former head of the US Pacific Fleet Intelligence Center, Carl Schuster, believes that the deployment of a US nuclear-armed submarine to a South Korean port is a purely symbolic act. His reasoning is that a submarine’s deterrent power is reduced once potential enemies know its location

Nuclear deterrence requires that an adversary not know the exact range, location, or when nuclear weapons may be used, even if the adversary knows the existence and extent of nuclear energy weapons, says Schuster. CNN.

He points out that US submarines equipped with ballistic nuclear missiles can attack North Korea from distances of several thousand kilometers, and that it was virtually impossible for North Korea to detect the submarine in question at such distances. Once a submarine is deployed in South Korea, North Korea gets an advantage.

The former naval officer says that preparations for receiving a nuclear submarine should begin a day or two before the submarine’s arrival. This makes the submarine vulnerable.

– If Kim Jong-un was looking for a surprise attack, we gave him the location of the submarine and the time it would be there.

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– Sends a nuclear retaliation message

The United States has flown several B-52 strategic bomber missions in the area around the Korean Peninsula to underscore its support for South Korea. These planes can carry nuclear weapons. At the same time, many South Koreans advocated that the country must acquire nuclear weapons itself in order to counter the threat from the North, which the United States does not want, according to CNN.

Researcher Kim Jong-sub at the Center for Defense Studies at the Sejong Institute in the South Korean capital, Seoul, believes that plans to send a nuclear submarine to South Korea should emphasize the United States’ position as a nuclear power and an ally of South Korea in return. north korea.

– They are strategic resources that send a message of nuclear retaliation against North Korea, says the researcher.

Researcher: Then they failed

Researcher Drew Thompson at the Lee Kuan Yew Institute at the National University of Singapore says that if the US and South Korea find themselves forced to launch nuclear weapons at North Korea, the US submarine mission has failed.

He says that the main task of nuclear-armed submarines is not to use nuclear weapons. It should act as a reassuring and deterrent. If submarines were to use nuclear weapons, they would have failed.