US, S.Korea, Japan conduct missile drill in response to DPRK 'threats'
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A South Korean Navy officer says the trio will "effectively" respond to the DPRK's "nuclear and missile threats."
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US President Joe Biden and members of his cabinet sit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid on June 29, 2022 (AFP)
The United States, South Korea, and Japan held a joint naval missile exercise on Sunday, days after DPRK leader Kim Jong Un described the situation on the Korean peninsula as “unstable" due to the destabilizing actions carried out by Washington and its allies, the latest of which was this week when US drones violated the DPRK's airspace over eight times in a single day.
Kim's statement on Wednesday came after his country test-fired its latest Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18, which Pyongyang considers to be the main pillar of its nuclear strike force.
As per Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim called for “more intense efforts” to develop and increase the country's nuclear arsenal, noting that the ICBM test was a "strong practical warning" to forces threatening the DPRK and the region.
Read more: South Korea urges AP4 NATO allies in response to DPRK missile launch
The Sunday trilateral exercise was held in international waters between South Korea and Japan and saw destroyers equipped with Aegis radar systems deployed by the three countries.
While Seoul and Tokyo have no bilateral defense agreements, which include data sharing and missile early warning systems, they are both connected to US radar systems.
In the meantime, Washington has been working on pushing allied countries to establish a NATO-like coalition in the Asia-Pacific region, meaning that defense integration will also be on the table.
Read more: US, Japan, S.Korea eye sharing DPRK missile warning data
Missiles were fired during the drill at a virtual target as the allies announced that the exercise aims to bolster response action in the case of a DPRK ballistic missile launch.
"We will effectively respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats with our military's strong response system and the trilateral cooperation," a South Korean Navy officer said.
