US, South Korea, Japan launch joint missile drill

South Korea, Japan and the United States have held their first joint ballistic missile defense exercise in waters off Hawaii amid rising tensions with North Korea.

The Pacific Dragon included a ballistic target tracking operation to test the Aegis anti-missile systems used by the United States and its two key Asian allies.

“While there were no missiles fired, all participants strengthened interoperability, communication channels, data collection, and capabilities assessments,” the US Pacific Command said in a statement.

The trilateral drill came less than a week after North Korea flight-tested two powerful new medium-range ballistic missiles that leader Kim Jong-Un hailed as a strike threat to US military bases across the Pacific.

Vice Admiral Nora Tyson, the commander of the US Third Fleet, said as well as rehearsing responses to a North Korean missile attack, the drill “enhanced the already strong relationship of all three nations participating.”

However, the military exercise underscores the chasm between Japan and South Korea, which have yet to move past territorial disputes and a history of war, undermining US efforts to present a united front against Pyongyang's advancing missile capabilities.

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said Seoul and Tokyo will not directly exchange information during the drill and will instead use the US as a “middleman”.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry has condemned the drill as “another military provocation perpetrated by the US,” reiterating strategic willingness to carry out a “preemptive nuclear attack” if threatened.

SS