When a U.S. ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) surfaced for a rare visit to South Korea this week it was a blunt reminder that Washington always has nuclear-tipped missiles deployed within close striking distance of North Korea, analysts said.
Having nuclear weapons out of sight in the seas off the Korean Peninsula was a potentially stronger deterrent to the North, according to some analysts, than installing them in South Korea, as Washington had done from 1958 to 1991.
The Kentucky's visit was the first by an SSBN to South Korea since the 1980s, and it follows an increasing debate in recent years over whether the United States should return tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea, or whether it should develop its own. SSBNs are the most survivable delivery platform of all U.S. nuclear weapons, essentially guaranteeing overwhelming nuclear retaliation in the event of an enemy first strike, said Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who works with the 38 North project that monitors North Korea.
North Korea has a large but aging submarine force with a primary mission to defend its coastline, but is looking to develop its own arsenal of missile submarines.
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