US, Japan, South Korea conduct missile defense exercise

Naval vessels including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan participate in a joint US-Japan-South Korea exercise in waters east of the Korean Peninsula on September 30, 2022.

Yonhap reported that the South Korean Navy said on July 16 that the country, the United States and Japan conducted a trilateral missile defense exercise in international waters east of the Korean Peninsula on the same day.

The exercise took place in the context of the three allies, the US, Japan and South Korea, strengthening security coordination due to North Korea's threatening actions, notably Pyongyang's recent launch of the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The South Korean Navy noted that under the scenario of a North Korean ballistic missile launch, the exercise focused on practicing computer-simulated ballistic missile target detection and interception procedures and sharing related information.

“The exercise is an opportunity to enhance our military’s response capabilities against ballistic missiles and improve security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan,” a South Korean Navy official was quoted as saying. “Thanks to our military’s robust response system and trilateral coordination, we will effectively counter threats from North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles.”

Previously, on July 14, top diplomats from the US, Japan and South Korea met on the sidelines of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM-56) and related conferences taking place in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

At the meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin expressed hope that trilateral cooperation would contribute to maintaining stability on the Korean peninsula.

Secretary of State Blinken also expressed concern that Pyongyang's missile launch would impact the situation on the Korean peninsula.

According to Vietnam+