On the heels of rumors last month the U.S. Navy's elite SEAL Team Six was in South Korea to practice a "decapitation raid" to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un comes news a navy ballistic missile submarine specially configured to infiltrate SEAL Team Six into hostile shores has dropped anchor in South Korea.

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The USS Michigan (SSGN-727), a nuclear cruise missile submarine or SSGN, docked a few days ago at the southern port city of Busan for what the U.S. Navy called a "routine visit."  Her arrival also comes at a time when the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and its Carrier Strike Group 1 (CSG-1), are due to enter the Sea of Japan off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula in the next few days to begin patrols.

USS Michigan is the submarine assigned to provide protection for CSG-1, which also consists of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108).

CSG-1 a few days ago was joined by two destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF): JS Ashigara (DDG-178), an Atago class guided missile destroyer and JS Samidare (DD-106), a Murasame-class general purpose destroyer.

On April 9, the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) said CVN-70 was being sent to waters off North Korea "to maintain readiness."

As for the Michigan, she will "foster outstanding relations between the U.S. Navy, ROK military and the local Busan community," said the U.S. Navy in a press release.

Michigan is one of the navy's four missile and special operations submarines converted from Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines intended to infiltrate and exfiltrate U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) such as SEAL Team Six.

The Michigan can carry up to 66 SOF operators and their equipment.  According to the navy, SSGNs "Armed with tactical missiles and equipped with superior communications capabilities ... are capable of directly supporting Combatant Commander's strike and Special Operation Forces (SOF) requirements."

Transforming four Ohio-class submarines into conventional land attack and SOF platforms allows the navy to exploit existing submarine technology while expanding its capability to meet the current and future needs of U.S. combatant commanders.

To directly support SOF operations, the Michigan and her three sisters are capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles of the type used to attack a Syrian air field earlier this month. The missiles are loaded in seven-shot Multiple-All-Up-Round Canisters (MACs) with up to 22 missile tubes.

These missile tubes can also accommodate additional stowage canisters for SOF equipment, food, and other equipment to extend the submarines' ability to remain forward deployed. The missile tubes are also able to accommodate future payloads such as new types of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).

TagsU.S. Navy, SEAL Team Six, USS Michigan (SSGN-727), USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), Carrier Strike Group 1, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Sea of Japan, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force