April 17, 2023
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| In this photo provided by South Korea Defence Ministry, South Korean Navy's destroyer Yulgok Yi I, bottom, US Navy's the guided missile destroyer USS Benfold and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Atago, top, sail during a joint missile defense drill among South Korea, the United States and Japan in the international waters of the east coast of Korean peninsular, Monday, April 17, 2023. The United States, South Korea and Japan will conduct a joint missile defense 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, the South Korean navy said. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP) |
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted a joint missile defence exercise on Monday aimed at countering North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal, as a top North Korean army official warned the US that it risks “a clearer security crisis and insurmountable threats.”
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 fuel. It is considered a more mobile, harder-to-detect weapon and could directly target the continental United States.South Korea’s navy said Monday’s three-way drills took place in international waters off the country’s eastern coast and focused on mastering 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 for South Korea’s navy, said at a news briefing.
The United States and South Korea also launched separate bilateral drills on Monday involving some 110 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, that will continue through April 28.
The two sets of exercises could trigger a belligerent response from North Korea, which views the United States’ military drills with its Asian allies as invasion rehearsals. North Korea has used such drills as a pretext to accelerate its own weapons development, creating a tit-for-tat cycle that has raised tensions in recent months.
Later Monday, Ri Pyong Chol, a North Korean army marshal and close associate of leader Kim Jong Un, warned that the United States should “stop at once its political and military provocations getting on the nerves of (North Korea)."
“If the US persists in the acts of endangering the security environment on the Korean Peninsula in disregard of the repeated warnings by (North Korea), the latter will take necessary actions to expose the former to a clearer security crisis and insurmountable threats,” Ri said in a statement carried by state media.
Without mentioning the drills that began Monday, Ri accused the US and South Korea of having staged a series of large-scale joint military exercises simulating a pre-emptive nuclear strike and all-out war against North Korea. He also criticized the US for calling for a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss North Korea's solid-fuel ICBM launch, saying his country was exercising its right to self-defence.
The two sets of exercises could trigger a belligerent response from North Korea, which views the United States’ military drills with its Asian allies as invasion rehearsals. North Korea has used such drills as a pretext to accelerate its own weapons development, creating a tit-for-tat cycle that has raised tensions in recent months.
Later Monday, Ri Pyong Chol, a North Korean army marshal and close associate of leader Kim Jong Un, warned that the United States should “stop at once its political and military provocations getting on the nerves of (North Korea)."
“If the US persists in the acts of endangering the security environment on the Korean Peninsula in disregard of the repeated warnings by (North Korea), the latter will take necessary actions to expose the former to a clearer security crisis and insurmountable threats,” Ri said in a statement carried by state media.
Without mentioning the drills that began Monday, Ri accused the US and South Korea of having staged a series of large-scale joint military exercises simulating a pre-emptive nuclear strike and all-out war against North Korea. He also criticized the US for calling for a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss North Korea's solid-fuel ICBM launch, saying his country was exercising its right to self-defence.
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