The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz joined South Korean and Japanese naval forces in a two-day trilateral drill on Monday, which includes anti-submarine training, Seoul’s Defense Ministry announced. Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, April 3 (UPI) — The United States, South Korea and Japan kicked off a trilateral naval exercise on Monday involving the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in an effort to counter North Korean underwater and nuclear threats, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.
The two-day exercise is being held in international waters south of the Korean island of Jeju and includes anti-submarine warfare training, the ministry said in a press release.
North Korea in recent weeks has tested submarine-launched missiles and its Haeil underwater nuclear attack drone, which Pyongyang claimed in state media can create a “super-scale radioactive tsunami through an underwater explosion.”
The secretive regime also unveiled new, smaller Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warheads last week.
“This exercise will be a good opportunity to improve the maritime operational capabilities of Korea, the U.S. and Japan to respond to underwater threats such as North Korea’s SLBMs, which are advancing in sophistication,” South Korean Rear Adm. Kim In-ho said in a statement.
The three countries last held anti-submarine drills in September. In addition to the Nimitz, which arrived for a port call in Busan last Monday, the destroyers USS Decatur and USS Wayne E. Mayer are participating, as well as Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Umigiri. South Korea is deploying its Yulgok YiYi, Choe Yeong and Daejoyeong destroyers, the ministry said.
The naval training comes on the heels of a pair of U.S.-South Korean bilateral drills, the Freedom Shield military exercise and Ssangyong amphibious landing drill.
North Korea has condemned the joint military exercises on the Peninsula as preparations for an invasion while conducting nearly a dozen weapons tests in recent weeks.
On Sunday, Pyongyang accused Seoul and Washington of being “warmongers” and said that it was not making “empty talk” about its nuclear capabilities.
“The U.S. and its followers should never forget the fact that their rival state has possessed the nuclear attack capability in practice as well as the characteristics of the people and army of the DPRK which do not make empty talk,” a commentary in state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
This week’s trilateral drills will also include humanitarian search-and-rescue exercises, the first time the three countries have held such training since 2016, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.