South Korea, US, Japan conduct missile defense exercise

• Published date: 03 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Three warships from South Korea, Japan and the United States carried out a ballistic missile defense drill, Tuesday, in the waters east of Korea in an apparent show of force against a recent North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The Republic of Korea Navy's Aegis destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great held a drill with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry and a Japanese Atago-class Aegis destroyer.

The trilateral exercise took place shortly after North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 ICBM last Saturday that is believed to be theoretically capable of hitting targets anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

It also fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, Monday, an act that seemed to simulate targeting South Korean and U.S. air bases in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in consideration of their strike ranges of 390 kilometers and 340 kilometers, respectively.

The South Korean JCS said the latest drill focused on enhancing the interoperability of the...