US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint drills

US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is escorted into Busan Naval Base (Lee Jin-man/AP)

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has arrived in the South Korean port of Busan ahead of the two countries’ joint military exercise aiming to show their strength against growing North Korean threats.

The joint drills will be the first involving a US aircraft carrier in the region since 2017, when the US sent three – including the Reagan – for naval drills with South Korea in response to North Korean nuclear and missile tests.