JAPAN: U.S. nuclear submarine arrives at Yokosuka after joining naval drill against North Korean threat

A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived at the Japanese port of Yokosuka Friday (November 17) after having completed a week-long joint exercise between the U.S. and Japanese navies, which was apparently targeted against North Korean threat. The U.S. Navy in Japan would not say how long USS Seawolf, whose home port is Connecticut on the U.S. East Coast, will stay at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, southeast of Tokyo. The U.S. nuclear submarine was one of approximately 100 American and Japanese ships that joined a joint naval drill until earlier this week in waters around Japan under the hypothetical scenario that a Japanese naval ship has come under attack in the Sea of Japan. About 8,500 US naval personnel and 21 U.S. vessels, including USS Seawolf, participated in the drill. Other warships that joined the drill include the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and the USS Shiloh, which is equipped with the high-tech Aegis radar system and SM-3 missiles intended to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. U.S. and Japanese navy officials say the exercises were held to ensure close security co-ordination between Japan and the United States. The exercises come at a time when the international community is trying to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. North Korea agreed to return to stalled six-party talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme last week, about three weeks after Pyongyang staged its first nuclear test.

ITN Source | November 17, 2006

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