U. S. and allies to hold military exercises near North Korea
2022.09.29 22:04
U. S. and allies to hold military exercises near North Korea
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – On Friday, amid tension over North Korea’s recent series of missile tests, the naval forces of South Korea, the United States, and Japan will conduct their major trilateral anti-submarine exercises for the first time in five years.
Just a day after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles at its east coast and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Seoul and the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, the drills will be held in international waters.
According to a statement released by the South Korean navy:
“the exercises are designed to improve their capability to respond to increasing North Korean submarine threats, including its submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) at a time when it consistently poses nuclear and missile threats with a series of ballistic missile tests.”
Due to the former progressive South Korean government’s efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and facilitate denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, which have stalled since 2019, the one-day drills, a flagship maritime training, have not been held since 2017.
A South Korean military official stated that as part of the program, the navies of the three nations will communicate with one another and search for a fictitious North Korean submarine.
According to the South Korean navy, the exercises will include the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the 9,800-ton guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville, the 6,900-ton Aegis-equipped destroyer USS Barry, the 4,400-ton destroyer Munmu the Great from South Korea, and the 5,100-ton tanker Asahi from Japan.
After citing commercial satellite imagery, a think tank based in the United States suggested that North Korea may be preparing to launch a new submarine believed to be capable of firing ballistic missiles.
The Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that South Korea’s military has also identified indications that the isolated nation might be preparing for an SLBM test.
More:
Grammy-winning saxophonist Ted Nash to perform in Cuba
Brazil’s Yanomami region looks like concentration camp-Official
