US, Japan, South Korea launch 'Freedom Edge' military drills
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The three nations have kicked off their three-day air and naval military exercises on the Korean Peninsula amid increasing tensions with the DPRK.
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US and South Korean flags wave before a joint river-crossing drill between the allied nations in Yeoju, South Korea, October 19, 2022. (AP)
South Korea, Japan, and the United States kicked off their major joint military drills on Thursday, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), following the DPRK's multiple-warhead missile testing.
The three-day military training, codenamed Freedom Edge, "will focus on ballistic missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction, and defensive cyber training," said the JCS.
The US Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Japan's guided-missile destroyer, JS Atago, and South Korea's KF-16 fighter jet are a few of the assets that will take part in the drills.
The South Korean Navy released a statement on June 22, following the arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, saying it "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."
The JCS claimed in its statement that the combined military drills aim to showcase the three nations' will to promote trilateral interoperability and protect and ensure freedom for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Tensions with DPRK
In August 2023, the leaders of the three nations attended the Camp David summit, where they agreed on a multi-year framework including annual, named, multidomain joint military exercises which, according to the White House, "will constitute an unprecedented level of trilateral defense cooperation."
The collaborative military drills aim to prepare defenses against potential conflicts with the DPRK. However, tensions between the DPRK and South Korea are rapidly intensifying, especially within the past month.
Earlier today, the DPRK successfully tested a multiple-warhead missile. However, the testing of cruise missiles, tactical rockets, and hypersonic weapons also occurred this year as part of the country's stated objective to enhance its defensive capabilities.
This week, the DPRK launched over 250 trash-filled balloons overnight into South Korea, resulting in a temporary closure and halt in operations at South Korea's Incheon International Airport, marking this the sixth launch the DPRK carried out this month in retaliation to anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets, radios, and USB thumb drives distributed by DPRK defectors and South Koreans.
