S. Korea, US, Japan launch real-time NK missile data-sharing system

President Yoon Suk Yeol poses with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a trilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, Nov. 16 (local time). Yonhap

South Korea, the United States and Japan jointly initiated a real-time data-sharing system for North Korean missile warnings, Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in strengthening trilateral security cooperation against Pyongyang's nuclear threats.

The newly established system is anticipated to elevate the overall capabilities of the three countries in detecting and tracking missiles launched by North Korea, the South's Ministry of National Defense said, adding that the latest development shows the "unprecedented depth, scale and scope of South Korea-U.S.-Japan security ties."

"The operational capability of the real-time sharing system for North Korean missile warning data has been fully verified through recent pre-checks and is currently in normal operation," the ministry said in a statement.

Defense ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said during a media briefing, "Previously, North Korean missile warning information was shared on a partial and temporary basis. Now, with the new system in place, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan can initiate a 24/7 basis system on information sharing."

Until now, South Korea and Japan were linked separately to data from U.S. radar systems concerning the detection of North Korean missiles, with no systems connecting the two Asian nations directly.

However, the need for three-way intelligence-sharing capabilities has become more apparent due to North Korea's growing nuclear capabilities.

Tuesday's announcement comes slightly over a year after the leaders of the three nations — President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — pledged to make joint efforts on sharing missile launch data during a summit in Phnom Penh in November last year.

Subsequently, during their meeting held in the U.S. at Camp David in August this year, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment and aimed to operationalize the system by the end of this year.

Along with the establishment of the data-sharing system, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo approved a multiyear plan for trilateral military drills, also on Tuesday, to better counter Pyongyang's military threats.

"So far, the three countries have irregularly conducted joint missile alert exercises, anti-submarine warfare drills, maritime interdiction exercises and anti-piracy drills. The multiyear joint exercise is aimed at institutionalizing these activities on a regular basis," Jeon said.

South Korean and U.S. special operations forces take part in a combined exercise at a training facility in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, in this photo released by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Tuesday. Courtesy of JCS

President Yoon said the missile data sharing system will be able to better protect people's daily lives from North Korea's escalating missile threats.

"In the last couple of days, North Korea has launched short-range missiles and an ICBM. This poses a significant and serious challenge to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the world," he said during a Cabinet meeting held shortly after the defense ministry's announcement.

"The North Korean regime will eventually realize that such provocations will bring greater suffering upon themselves," the president added.

Beginning on Monday, South Korea and the U.S. kicked off a two-week-long special operations joint exercise involving U.S. Army Special Forces Green Berets and a U.S. Navy Seal Team, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea.

Video footage released by the JCS on Tuesday featured several soldiers engaging in a live-fire exercise on human silhouette targets. But the JCS said the ongoing drill is not related to the so-called "decapitation operation" of eliminating the North Korean leader.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Tuesday, a day after the North's latest missile provocation. Yonhap

South Korea's rare disclosure of the special operations exercise came amid escalating tensions on the peninsula, fueled by North Korea's ICBM launch on Monday morning. The latest provocation marked its fifth ICBM launch this year, the highest figure recorded in a single year.

"Through the drill, the combat capability of ICBM unit was highly estimated," read the Tuesday edition of the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the North's official mouthpiece, verifying the test-launch of its Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM conducted the previous day.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the launch, according to the newspaper.

The ICBM launch was "an occasion to clearly show what action the DPRK has been prepared and what option the DPRK would take when Washington makes a wrong decision against it," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.