South Korea, the US, and Japan started a joint missile defense drill on Monday in the international waters of the East Sea, according to Seoul’s Navy. This comes at a time when more is being done to stop North Korean threats.
After Pyongyang did things like launch what was thought to be a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last Thursday, the three countries have been working together more on security.
The military says that three Aegis-equipped destroyers are taking part in the latest drill. These are the ROKS Yulgok Yi I from the South, the USS Benfold from the US, and the JS Atago from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The main goal of the drill was to practice how to find and track a computer-simulated ballistic missile target and share information about it.
A South Korean Navy official said, “This was a chance to strengthen security cooperation between the South, the U.S., and Japan against the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats and to improve our Navy’s ability to respond to ballistic missile launches.”
The last time the three countries worked together on missile security like this was in February.
Last week, the countries talked about defense at a high level in a meeting called the Defense Trilateral Talks. They agreed to hold regular missile defense and anti-submarine drills to counter the threats from the North.
