Kim Yo-jong, the deputy department head of the Workers' Party of North Korea, said the arrival of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in Busan "shows its intentions to be the most hostile and confrontational" and noted that plans are being considered to increase actions that pose strategic threats (using force to intimidate).
According to the Korean Central News Agency on 4th, Deputy Head Kim issued a statement, threatening that the U.S. is engaging in "provocative acts that exacerbate the situation while ignoring safety concerns" towards North Korea. Deputy Head Kim claimed that the U.S. is deploying strategic assets in a constant deployment situation to the Korean Peninsula through the arrival of the Carl Vinson and the deployment of the nuclear submarine Alexandria.
He pointed out that the upcoming U.S.-Japan joint maritime exercise and Freedom Shield joint military drills (U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises; FS) will escalate America's hostile policy towards North Korea.
Deputy Head Kim strongly condemned the "reckless, showy, and provocative acts" of the U.S. and its allied forces, stating that the actions accompanying the U.S.'s hostile policy towards North Korea sufficiently provide a reason for the limitless strengthening of our nuclear deterrent.
He emphasized, "We will not just sit still and comment on the situation," adding, "If the U.S. continues to set records in military displays of force, we too will have no choice but to update records in the exercise of strategic deterrence." He further remarked, "They should not test our will and capability."
Deputy Head Kim's recent statement is also interpreted as a way to gauge the reaction of the new U.S. administration through criticism of the Trump administration's North Korea policy.
The Carl Vinson is the third Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet, arriving in Busan on the 2nd along with the cruiser USS Princeton and the Aegis destroyer USS Stethem, which are part of the same carrier strike group. This is the first domestic entry of a U.S. aircraft carrier in about eight months since June of last year and the first since the Trump administration took office on Jan. 20.