US, allies conduct more drills in face of North Korean threat

Seoul: The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted a joint missile defence 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 neighbours and the United States. The South Korea-US-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 involved an Aegis destroyer from each country.

“The 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 United States and South Korea also launched drills Monday involving some 110 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, that will continue through April 28.

The US-South Korean aerial drills are designed to enhance combined airpower execution and train aircrews to successfully respond in combat scenarios involving robust surface-to-air and air-to-air threats, according to the militaries. The training events “reaffirm the US’s ironclad commitment to the ROK,” the US Seventh Air Force said in a statement, using the initials of South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea.

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 Defence Ministry said Seoul and Tokyo discussed North Korea’s nuclear programme 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 US aircraft carrier battle group and nuclear-capable B-52 bombers. The North responded by dialling up its own testing activity.