Japan, South Korea and US hold naval joint drill after Pyongyang's missile launch

Tokyo: Japan, South Korea and the United States held a joint naval missile defence exercise in the Sea of Japan on Sunday after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), The Japan Times reported.

The rare joint defence exercise was conducted in international waters as the three countries have been reinforcing security coordination amid Pyongyang's continued sabre-rattling this year, highlighted by the firing of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM last Wednesday, Yonhap News Agency reported. South Korea’s Navy said in a statement that Sunday’s exercise, which was conducted in international waters and involved Aegis destroyers from the three countries, focused on practising detecting and tracking a computer-simulated ballistic missile target and sharing related information.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Self-Defence Force said in a separate statement that the drills were “intended to vigorously promote trilateral cooperation to address regional security challenges amid the increasingly severe security environment surrounding Japan.”

The MSDF specifically highlighted North Korea’s launch last week of an intercontinental ballistic missile-class weapon. Pyongyang on Wednesday tested its solid-fueled Hwasong-18 ICBM, which is believed to be capable of striking most, if not all, of the continental US, with the weapon spending 74 minutes in flight — a record for the country, according to The Japan Times.

“This exercise served as an opportunity to enhance our military’s response capabilities against ballistic missiles and improve security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan,” the Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified South Korean Navy official as saying.

Earlier, on Wednesday, North Korea fired what it said was a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, just days after Pyongyang threatened to shoot down US military reconnaissance planes flying over nearby waters, CNN reported.

The launch follows several other recent tests of North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), which have raised alarm among adversaries as the isolated authoritarian nation ramps up its efforts to develop weapons capable of potentially striking major US cities.
A White House statement said the launch “risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.