By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea, the United States and Japan began a joint exercise in waters off the Korean Peninsula and Japan, Tuesday, to enhance their capabilities in detecting and tracking North Korean ballistic missiles.
The Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the trilateral exercise, which will run through Wednesday, mobilized four Aegis-equipped destroyers from the three countries.
“The drill is aimed at better preparing for North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats in accordance with the agreement made during the 48th Security Consultative Meeting between South Korea and the U.S. in October 2016,” the JCS said.
During the meeting, defense chiefs from Seoul and Washington agreed to conduct such a drill regularly.
The exercise is to enhance sailors’ ability to detect and track missiles in the event of a ballistic missile launch from the North. A stage of shooting down the missile is not included in the drill, the JCS noted, adding that no actual anti-missile missiles will be launched during the exercise.
The ships mobilized are the Aegis destroyer DDG-992 Yulgok Yii from South Korea, the Stethem and Decatur from the United States, and the Kirishima from Japan.
The Kim Jong-un regime launched intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan that landed in the Pacific waters in August and September. Pyongyang has also continued to threaten to fire more powerful and longer-range missiles, which would include an intercontinental ballistic missile believed to have a range of more than 10,000 kilometers.
Amid the growing military threat, the defense chiefs of the three countries reaffirmed Monday that three-way ballistic missile detection and anti-submarine warfare drills will continue.
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera reached an agreement on this on the sidelines of an ASEAN security forum in the Philippines.
Song said trilateral security cooperation has played a critical role in deterring threats from the North and maintaining peace and stability in the Northeast Asia region.
Mattis stressed, “America’s commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea... two of our most respected allies, remains ironclad and we recognize that we are stronger together.”
The Japanese defense chief noted that Tokyo strongly supports Washington’s statement that “all options are on the table” in exerting maximum pressure on Pyongyang.
According to a joint press statement, the top defense officials of the three countries also agreed to cooperate in supporting diplomatic and economic efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully.