The U.S. military conducted joint exercises with its Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Tuesday in response to North Korea’s latest missile test, which occurred a day prior.
North Korea’s ballistic missile test went further than before and soared over Japan, the first such occurrence in five years, and it prompted a warning for residents to take cover. The distance this missile traveled, more than 2,800 miles, puts Guam, a U.S. territory, in its radius.
President Joe Biden spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with their Japanese and South Korean counterparts since the test took place to reaffirm their relationship and to discuss the test itself.
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“In response to the DPRK’s ballistic missile launch over Japan, U.S. Marine Corps fighters joined Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighters in a bilateral exercise over the Sea of Japan,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during Tuesday’s briefing. “In addition, U.S.-Indo-Pacific Command and the Republic of Korea personnel conducted a bilateral exercise over the West Sea.”
“These engagements were taken to showcase combined deterrent and dynamic strike capabilities while demonstrating the interoperability our nations share,” he added.
North Korea has launched roughly 40 missiles over this year as its leader, Kim Jong Un, refuses to return to diplomacy and instead vows to expand the country’s nuclear capabilities. This is the country’s fifth weapons test in the past week and a half.
“The leaders jointly condemned the DPRK’s missile test in the strongest terms, recognizing the launch as a danger to the Japanese people, destabilizing to the region, and a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions,” the White House said in a readout of Biden’s call with Kishida. “They confirmed they would continue to closely coordinate their immediate and longer-term response bilaterally, trilaterally with the Republic of Korea, and with the international community.”
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North Korea has also positioned itself on Russia’s side in relation to the latter’s war in Ukraine and against Western allies.
Despite denials from the North Koreans themselves, the Biden administration stands by its assessment that Russia has reached out to them to purchase millions of rockets and artillery shells.
