SEOUL — South Korea, Japan and the United States began a joint naval exercise yesterday aimed at countering missile threats from North Korean submarines, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said, amid mounting concerns over the hermit state’s nuclear and missile programmes.
Pyongyang is on a quest to develop a long-range missile capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead, and has so far staged five nuclear tests, two of them last year.
The three-day drills involving more than 800 military personnel kicked off after US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that America was prepared to act unilaterally to deal with North Korea’s nuclear programme if China was unwilling to help.
The exercise began off South Korea’s southern coast near Japan and featured multiple naval destroyers and helicopters used for anti-submarine warfare, the South Korean Defence Ministry said. The exercise was aimed at “ensuring effective response to the North’s submarine threats including submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs)” and “demonstrates the three countries’ strong determination (to counter Pyongyang)”, according to the ministry.
Tensions have escalated in the region following a series of missile launches by North Korea in recent months and reports suggesting Pyongyang may be preparing another atomic test.
In February, the North simultaneously fired four ballistic missiles off its east coast, three of which fell provocatively close to Japan, in what it said was a drill for an attack on US bases in the neighbouring Asian country. Last August, Pyongyang also successfully test-fired an SLBM 500km towards Japan, far exceeding any previous submarine-launched tests.
A nuclear-capable SLBM system would take the North’s threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “second-strike” capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.
Analysts say that while Pyongyang has made faster progress in its SLBM capabilities than expected, it is still years away from deployment. The country still does not have submarines large or advanced enough to travel long distances without detection to attack distant targets across the Pacific, they said. AGENCIES