A US Navy aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea just days after Russia and North Korea signed a defense pact

• A US aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea for military exercises.
• Its arrival came days after Russia and North Korea agreed to an unprecedented defense pact.

A US Navy aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea at an opportune moment.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group arrived in Busan on Saturday, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, agreed to a defense pact during a high-profile summit in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The South Korean navy said the nuclear-powered carrier "demonstrates the strong combined defense posture of the South Korea-US alliance and their firm resolve to respond to the escalating threats from North Korea."

Its mere presence projects US power and reach across the region.

The Roosevelt is the first US carrier to dock in South Korea since the USS Carl Vinson visited in November last year. The South Korean navy said that along with the Roosevelt, the Halsey and Daniel Inouye destroyers were also in South Korea as part of the carrier's strike group.

While in South Korea, the Roosevelt is expected to participate in joint exercises with its host and Japan to improve cooperation between the three countries' navies amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

The Roosevelt previously participated in a two-day joint exercise with Japan and South Korea in April in the East China Sea.

At Putin and Kim's meeting in Pyongyang, the two leaders displayed warm relations and agreed to support each other should one be attacked, similar to Article Five of the NATO doctrine. Putin also suggested he could send weapons to North Korea, which would have major repercussions for relations on the peninsula and beyond.

The pact between Russia and North Korea compelled a swift response from South Korea, which threatened to increase its support for Ukraine's war effort by directly sending lethal aid to Kyiv — a change from its current policy of sending ammunition only via the United States.

After the aircraft carrier finishes its exercises, it's set to depart for the Middle East, where it would replace the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. The Eisenhower left the region on Saturday after a relentless battle against Yemen's Houthis, who've been attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians.