North Korea has strongly criticized the United States over what it calls “political and military provocations.” The statement came after the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docked in the South Korean port city of Busan on March 2.

The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group arrived in South Korea only days after Pyongyang carried out its fourth missile test this year.

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.