Washington, Seoul and Tokyo launched a two-day joint naval exercise Monday aimed at countering Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.
»(The anti-submarine exercise) has been organized to enhance the response capabilities of South Korea, Japan and the United States against North Korea’s underwater threats, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile,» the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a press release.
This training will focus on enhancing the capabilities of these countries to »detect, track, share information and defeat» threats from North Korean authorities. It also follows the unveiling of a tactical nuclear warhead and the testing of an underwater nuclear strike designed to »create a radioactive tsunami.»
The ministerial portfolio has informed that these exercises will involve the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and take place in international waters south of Jeju Island.
It also noted that the three countries last conducted joint anti-submarine drills in September 2022, while search and rescue drills have not been carried out for seven years.
Pyongyang last week confirmed the launch of a »strategic underwater nuclear weapon» under test off the coast of Riwon, South Hamgyong Province, which has reached the waters of Hongwon Bay, 116 kilometers away, and designed to »stealthily infiltrate operational waters and create a large-scale radioactive tsunami.»
The reason, officials said, is the participation of U.S. soldiers in military maneuvers in the area. (These maneuvers) urgently require North Korea to prepare its entire armed forces structure for a war and strengthen its nuclear capabilities,» according to a statement from the state-run KCNA.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
