Tensions increased around the Korean peninsula after Japan, South Korea, and the United States conducted a joint missile defense drill on Monday, prompting some saber rattling from Pyongyang.
The three allies’ collaborative operation follows more than a month of military exercises and weapons tests, ranging from missile launches to piloting a nuclear-capable underwater drone that can allegedly cause tsunamis, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
“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,” said Jang Do-young, a South Korean Navy spokesperson, as the Associated Press reported.
The exercise involved three destroyer vessels, one from each country, and took place in international waters, per NBC 5 DFW.
Last Friday, the three countries agreed to hold more joint military exercises, with an emphasis on missile defense and anti-submarine drills, in order to counter North Korea’s own international menacing, according to Reuters.
“[Japan, South Korea, and the United States] condemned in the strongest terms [North Korea’s] repeated violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), including its continuous nuclear and missile provocations and illicit ship-to-ship transfers, and they affirmed the international community’s shared goal to ensure the DPRK fully complies with its obligations under relevant UNSCRs,” reads a press release published by the U.S. Department of Defense after the trilateral talks.
Following Monday’s joint military exercises, a functionary of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) criticized the United States, suggesting North Korea would escalate its own military posturing. However, they did not specially mention Monday’s drills.
“If the U.S. ignores our repeated warnings and continues actions that endanger the security environment of the Korean peninsula, we will take necessary action so that it feels a clearer security crisis and insurmountable threat,” said Ri Pyong Chol, vice president of the party’s central military commission, Reuters reported.
Still, the Korean peninsula is not the United States’ sole focus in the region. As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the United States began an 18-day-long series of military exercises with the Philippines just last week.
The robust mock operation involves live fire and both naval vessels and heavy aircraft, with soldiers from both countries conducting an exercise meant to replicate the retaking of an island by enemy forces.
