The US, South Korea and Japan held a planned joint naval exercise involving a US aircraft carrier to ensure preparedness for nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, South Korean media reported.
The drills, aimed at strengthening their joint capability to respond to threats from North Korea, are being conducted under a multi-year joint exercise plan developed after last year’s trilateral summit, South Korean naval officials said.
The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and destroyers Howard, Russell and Daniel Inouye, as well as warships from Asian neighbours, took part in the two-day exercise, held since Thursday in international waters between South Korea and Japan. The South’s navy said in a statement:
The participating forces conducted anti-submarine warfare drills to improve their responses to North Korean underwater threats including from submarines and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Capt. Baek Jun-cheol of the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong destroyer said:
This training provided a great opportunity to enhance the capabilities of the three participating countries to respond to North Korea’s evolving nuclear and WMD threats and to improve humanitarian assistance capabilities for distressed vessels.
Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, said the trilateral drill provided an opportunity to work together to better prepare for any crisis or contingency in the region.
The navies of the three countries also conducted maritime interdiction drills to block North Korea’s illegal transport of weapons of mass destruction, as well as search-and-rescue training for vessels in distress.
Defence officials from South Korea and Washington held annual defence talks in the US on Thursday, confirming plans to hold drills simulating North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons during the upcoming summer exercises, Seoul’s defence ministry added.
It is the latest in a series of joint exercises since Washington and its Asian allies agreed during the Camp David summit in August 2023 to hold regular trilateral exercises to deter growing security threats.
North Korea is accelerating weapons development by testing solid-fuel hypersonic missiles last week, and its leader Kim Jong Un said on Wednesday that now is a better time than ever to be ready for war, citing the volatile geopolitical situation.
