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South Korea, US and Japan Hold North Korean Anti-Submarine Exercises. PHOTO/Reuters
SEOUL – Navy South Korea (Carousel), United States of America (USA), and Japan began their first anti-submarine exercise in six months on Monday (3/4/2023). This exercise was held to improve their coordination against the increasing threat of North Korean missiles (North Korea).
As AP reports, the two-day drills came as North Korea recently launched a type of nuclear warhead on the battlefield sparking fears it could conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.
“Maritime exercises in international waters off the coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and naval destroyers from South Korea, the US and Japan,” the South’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The exercise is set to enhance the three countries’ capacity to respond to underwater security threats posed by North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missiles and other assets,” the statement continued.
South Korean defense officials said the three countries would detect and track South Korean and US unmanned underwater vehicles disguised as enemy submarines and other assets.
North Korea’s submarine-launched missiles pose a serious security threat to the United States and its allies because it is more difficult to detect such launches beforehand.
In recent years, North Korea has tested advanced underwater-launched ballistic missiles and pushed to build larger submarines including nuclear-powered ones.
Last month, North Korea conducted a series of missile tests in response to previous South Korea-US bilateral military exercises. The weapons tested included a nuclear-capable underwater drone and a submarine-launched cruise missile, indicating that North Korea is trying to diversify its underwater weapons systems.
Photographs in North Korean state media last week showed leader Kim Jong Un standing near about 10 red-tipped warheads called “Hwasan (volcano)-31” with different serial numbers.
(esn)
