Foreign minister Park Jin on Sunday visited the USS Ronald Reagan that arrived in the southeastern port city of Busan last Thursday.

The foreign ministry said that Park visited the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the afternoon and checked up on cooperation between Seoul and Washington to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence and their combined defense readiness.

Minister Park was given a tour of the Ronald Reagan by Rear Adm. Pat Hannifin, commander of Carrier Strike Group Five, and was briefed on its operations.

Park said that as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats advance and become more explicit than ever, the visit is a strong demonstration of the watertight security cooperation between the allies for regional peace and stability, including the security of the Korean Peninsula.

Mentioning the carrier’s motto of “Peace through Strength,” the minister stressed that true peace can only be supported by strength and asked for continued efforts to maintain a robust combined defense posture.

The strike group, which includes the aircraft carrier and other warships, arrived last Thursday at a naval base in Busan for a five-day visit.