USS Michigan Submarine to make "Visible Port Call" in South Korea -Tuesday

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USS Michigan Submarine to make "Visible Port Call" in South Korea -Tuesday ! ! UN Meeting on Korea this Friday . . . 

Post by Newsroom - Apr 24, 2017




 
A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine is to arrive at the South Korean port city of Busan on Tuesday, the same day North Korea is expected to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army.
The USS Michigan, the second Ohio-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine in the U.S. Navy, is to make a visit to South Korea to send a strong message of warning to Pyongyang. 
The U.S. supercarrier Carl Vinson is also expected to arrive near the peninsula this week, a move that is being met with threats from North Korea.
"Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," the North Korean Rodong Sinmun stated in an editorial.
A South Korean military official who spoke anonymously said the Michigan will receive a hull inspection upon arrival at Busan port, then leave for training exercises in waters near the Korean peninsula.
According to a second source who spoke to the Donga, the submarine will join the Carl Vinson strike group and carry out surveillance missions.
It is also likely the submarine will conduct exercises with the South Korean navy, the source said.
The Michigan has a displacement of more than 18,000 tons when submerged and, at 560 feet long and 42 feet wide, is one of the largest submarines in the world.
It can travel at speeds of 29 miles per hour and can stay submerged for up to three months.
The submarine is equipped with about 150 Tomahawk missiles that can hit targets up to 990 miles away, plus four torpedo tubes (2 front, 2 rear) and can carry out a range of missions including anti-submarine warfare and reconnaissance.
 

HISTORY

The Michigan was originally built to carry the Navy's third generation submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the Trident C-4. After arriving in Bangor, Maine, in March 1983, Michigan would carry out her primary mission of deterrence for nearly 20 years, conducting more than 60 strategic deterrent patrols.
At the conclusion of the Cold War, Michigan, Ohio and two sister ships - USS Florida (SSBN 728) and USS Georgia (SSBN 729) - were considered for decommissioning. Instead, the Navy chose to convert the Ohio-class seaframe to carry Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAMs) or other payloads in lieu of ballistic missiles.
Following more than three years of reconfiguration at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Michigan rejoined the fleet as a guided-missile submarine on June 11, 2007, following in the footsteps of Ohio. Florida and Georgia  would also be converted into SSGNs in the following years.
In addition to their makeovers, Michigan and Ohio began forward-deployed operations out of Polaris Point, Guam - much as their SSBN forerunners did throughout the Cold War. Similarly, the Kings Bay, Ga. -based Florida and Georgia operate out of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Between these four submarines, there are over 600 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the region; and that doesn't even begin to count what onboard the Destroyers and Guided Missile cruisers accompanying the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, which will arrive near-enough to the Korean Peninsula to engage, as early as tomorrow morning.
 

UN to Have "Ministerial Level" Meeting Friday about Korea

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will Chair a Ministerial-level meeting of the United Nations this coming Friday.  The topic of the meeting will be the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley made the announcement Monday, saying the April 28 meeting will be an important follow-up to this weekend's talks between President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping at the U.S. leader's resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump said ahead of the meeting that China has great influence over North Korea and he wants Xi to help the U.S. denuclearize the reclusive northeast Asian nation. If the Chinese leader won't, Trump said he can handle the problem without Beijing.
Haley, the Security Council president this month, said the focus of the April 28 meeting will depend a lot on the outcome of the Xi-Trump talks.
"The United States has seen China for 25 plus years say that they're concerned about North Korea but we haven't seen them act like they're concerned about North Korea," she said. "This administration wants to see them act, and I think they're going to pressure them to do that."
"We all hope ... that we see some real partnership and working together," Haley said.