A US Navy nuclear armed submarine has been spotted for the first time in decades, in a show of strength to North Korea and China.
The rare appearance of the top secret USS Nevada at the Guam naval base comes after missile tests by Kim Jong-un’s regime and rising tensions with Beijing.
The submarine is an Ohio class vessel – nicknamed boomers in the Navy – which are armed with 20 Trident nuclear missiles and normally lurk in the ocean on secret patrols.
Thomas Shugart, a former US Navy submarine captain and now an analyst at the Center for a New American Security said the Nevada’s presence sends a “message”.
New pictures released by North Korea show the missiles being fired from mobile launchers.
The tests come after Pyongyang test also recently fired a hypersonic missile capable of speeds Mach 10.
In response, US has called on the secretive regime to “cease its unlawful and destabilising” tests.
Nevada’s mission also comes amid tensions with China over Taiwan and Beijing’s development of its own fleet of nuclear armed submarines.
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