SEOUL (Dispatches) - The naval forces of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Friday staged major trilateral anti-submarine drills, amid growing tension over North Korea’s recent missile tests.
The drills were held in international waters off the Korean peninsula’s east coast, just a day after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Seoul and the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas.
The U.S. Navy said the drills were aimed at enhancing inter-operability and tactical and technical coordination between the three countries.
The exercises reportedly brought together the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the 9,800-ton guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville, the 6,900-ton Aegis-equipped destroyer USS Barry, South Korea’s 4,400-ton destroyer Munmu the Great and Japan’s 5,100-ton tanker Asahi, among other warships.
In a statement, the South Korean navy said the war games were choreographed to bolster their capability to respond effectively to North Korea’s evolving SLBM technology at a time when Pyongyang continues to pose “nuclear and missile threats”.
“The exercises are designed to improve their capability to respond to increasing North Korean submarine threats, including its submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) at a time when it consistently poses nuclear and missile threats with a series of ballistic missile tests,” it said.
Harris arrived in Seoul on Thursday on a trip planned to underscore Washington’s commitment to defending South Korea in the face of alleged “threats” from the North.
The South Korean military said on the same day that it had detected the launch of “two short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunchon area in South Pyongan province,” with Japan’s coast guard also confirming a likely ballistic missile launch from North Korea.
The United States has warned that it would push for additional sanctions if Pyongyang goes ahead with its seventh nuclear test.
North Korea has tested a number of ballistic missiles this year, including massive intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), new hypersonic missiles, and a short-range missile potentially designed for tactical nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang maintains that its weapon tests are a defensive measure against threats posed by the massive presence of US forces near its territorial waters and the regular holding of joint U.S.-led war games with Japan with South Korea.