US, South Korea and Japan conduct joint missile defense exercise

Seoul, The Gulf Observer: The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted a joint missile defense exercise Monday in waters near the Korean Peninsula as they expand military training to counter the growing threats of North Korea’s nuclear-capable missiles.

Last week, North Korea conducted one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations in years by flight-testing for the first time an intercontinental ballistic missile powered by solid propellants, as it pursues a weapon that’s more responsive, harder to detect and could directly target the continental United States.

North Korea’s unprecedented run of weapons tests has so far involved more than 100 missiles of various ranges fired into the sea since the start of 2022 as the country attempts to build a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten its rival neighbors and the United States.

The South Korea-U.S.-Japan training could trigger a belligerent response from North Korea, which condemns the United States’ military drills with its Asian allies as invasion rehearsals. The North has used those drills as a pretext to accelerate its own weapons development, creating a cycle of tit-for-tat that has raised tensions in recent months.

South Korea’s navy said Monday’s three-way naval drills took place in international waters off the country’s eastern coast and focused on mastering the procedures for detecting, tracking and sharing information on incoming North Korean ballistic missiles. The one-day naval exercise involves an Aegis destroyer from each country and comes as the United States and South Korea also launched separate, five-day aerial drills involving some 110 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets.

“The (trilateral) drills’ goal is to improve our response capabilities against ballistic missiles and strengthen our ability to conduct joint operations as North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats continue to escalate,” Jang Do-young, a spokesperson of South Korea’s navy, said in a news briefing.

The U.S.-South Korean aerial drills are aimed at sharpening combined operational abilities and demonstrating the countries’ joint defense postures in the face of North Korean threats, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.

Also Monday, South Korea and Japan resumed a security meeting of senior diplomats and defense officials following a five-year hiatus. The meeting is one of many recent events that show ties between Seoul and Tokyo are improving in the face of North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats after years of disputes over history and trade.

During Monday’s meeting, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Seoul and Tokyo discussed North Korea’s nuclear program and a trilateral cooperation with the United States.

The United States and South Korea conducted their biggest filed exercises in years in March and have also held separate naval and aerial drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group and nuclear-capable B-52 bombers. The North responded by dialing up its own testing activity.

Monday marks 11-straight days that North Korea has not responded to South Korean checkup calls on a set of cross-border inter-Korean hotlines, South Korean officials say, raising concerns about potential kinetic provocations. Communications on those channels are meant to prevent accidental clashes along the rivals’ sea borders.