Marking the 74th anniversary of the Korean War on June 25, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol conducted extensive activities in Daegu and Busan, sending a strong warning message to North Korea through his actions.
In the morning, Yoon attended a Korean War commemoration ceremony in Daegu, which played a pivotal role in turning the tide of the war, and criticized the military cooperation agreement between Russia and North Korea as a “regressive and outdated act that goes against the progress of history”.
Later in the afternoon, he moved to Busan and boarded the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. There, he emphasized, “The R.O.K-U.S. alliance is stronger than ever, and our great alliance can defeat any adversary.”
In a situation where North Korea is escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula with attempts to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities and continuous provocations, Yoon held the Korean War commemoration ceremony in a regional city to remind people of the significance of the Korean War.
Moreover, he emphasized his commitment to strengthening deterrence against North Korea through the R.O.K-U.S. alliance by becoming the third South Korean president to board a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier.
Especially in a situation where South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are jointly conducting the Freedom Edge exercise to strengthen deterrence and response capabilities against North Korean nuclear and missile threats, Yoon expressed confidence that the trilateral cooperation will become another strong deterrent against North Korea apart from the R.O.K-U.S. alliance.
Over 300 Korean and American Soldiers Greet President Yoon with Cheers
During his visit to the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, Yoon stated, “The visit of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt is an implementation measure of the Washington Declaration that President Biden and I adopted last April.” According to Presidential Office spokesperson Kim Soo Kyung who delivered the briefing in writing, Yoon explained that exercises symbolize the “ironclad U.S. defense commitment to Korea, including its strong extended deterrence.”
By directly mentioning that the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt would set sail on June 26 to participate in the first multi-domain military exercise Freedom Edge of the three countries, Yoon hinted that he could neutralize the military cooperation movement between Russia and North Korea by urging a three-country cooperation along with the R.O.K-U.S. alliance.
As soon as Yoon boarded the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, a bell rang to announce the president’s boarding. Over 300 Korean and American soldiers wearing different colored clothes according to their duties greeted the president with loud cheers.
Yoon, along with the military’s key officers, took an aircraft carrier elevator to the flight deck, where he received a detailed explanation of various equipment from Commander of the 9th Carrier Strike Group Christopher Alexander. This included the carrier’s main fighter, the FA-18. The FA-18 also appeared in the movie Top Gun: Maverick.
The U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt could carry more than 90 aircraft. One to two cruisers and two or three destroyers provide anti-ship, anti-air, and anti-submarine defense functions. One or two nuclear-powered submarines also operate alongside it.
“We Will Further Solidify Our Alliance with Countries That Share the Values of Freedom”
Earlier, Yoon attended the 74th Anniversary Event of the Korean War held at EXCO in Daegu and emphasized in his commemorative speech that “South Korea will further solidify its freedom and peace by allying with countries that share the values of freedom”.
By presenting a strong R.O.K-U.S. alliance, Yoon emphasized that South Korea has been on the path of freedom and prosperity since the Korean War, unlike North Korea, which is on the path of regression. He repeatedly stated that “peace is not maintained by words”.
Yoon said, “The path to achieving true peace in this land lies in protecting our country and its people with strong power and an ironclad security posture,” adding, “If we become stronger and unite as one, the unified Korea of freedom and prosperity will not be a distant future”.
Yoon’s mentioning of the “unified Republic of Korea” in this way is interpreted as an intention to emphasize the superiority of the South Korean system and to discourage North Korea’s will to commit provocations by consistently demonstrating a hard-line stance against North Korea.
In line with such warnings, North Korea resumed its launch of trash balloons toward South Korea on the same day. As Yoon mentioned, the South Korean government is stepping up practical pressure, including resuming artillery exercises in the northwest islands.
