The U.S. and South Korea said they staged a large anti-ballistic missile exercise Tuesday in response to North Korea’s test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile the night before Independence Day.
The U.S.-South Korean drill was on the country’s east coast aimed at “countering North Korea’s destabilizing and unlawful actions,” the U.S. Army said.
The North Korea launch of the Hwasong-14 ICBM Monday was a landmark advance of its missile program, which seeks to develop a weapon that can deliver a nuclear warhead inside the continental United States.
“The [South Korea]-U.S. alliance remains committed to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. commitment to the defense of [South Korea] in the face of threats is ironclad,” the Pentagon said Tuesday evening.
The test came days after President Trump met with South Korea President Moon Jae-in to discuss ways to head off the North and its quest for nuclear weapons, which has dramatically stepped up under the new administration.
The U.S. on Tuesday asked for an emergency, closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for “global action.”
