The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docks at a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan on March 2, 2025. The warship of the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 1 entered the naval base in what marked the first such visit by a U.

The Carl Vinson is the first U.S. carrier to visit Busan since the USS Theodore Roosevelt docked there on June 24. Days later, the Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group took part in Freedom Edge, the first major trilateral maritime and aerial exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan.

The presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier in South Korea this week highlights the strengthening bilateral alliance, a U.S. admiral said Monday, a day after its arrival in the southeastern city of Busan.