US guided-missile destroyer in S.Korea after Taiwan Strait transit | News Room Odisha

US guided-missile destroyer in S.Korea after Taiwan Strait transit

Seoul: Following its transit through the Taiwan Strait earlier this week, a US guided-missile destroyer arrived in South Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan on Friday for replenishment and other purposes, an informed source said here.

Docked at a naval command in the city, the USS Sampson destroyer is set to stay through May 3 amid lingering tensions caused by North Korea’s recent missile launches, including its test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Yonhap News Agency cited the source as saying.

On Tuesday, the warship conducted what the US Navy dubbed a “routine” Taiwan Strait transit through international waters, a move seen as part of Washington’s operation to keep an increasingly assertive China in check.

This visit comes as Seoul and Washington are stepping up coordination to rein in North Korea’s provocative mode amid speculation that it may soon carry out a seventh nuclear test or another ICBM launch.

–IANS