US, South Korea, Japan Stage Trilateral Anti-Submarine Drills Following North Korean Missile Tests

U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (R) and South Korea's landing platform helicopter (LPH) ship Marado (2nd L) sail during a joint military exercise at an undisclosed location on June 4, 2022. South Korea Defense Ministry via AP

The United States, South Korea, and Japan launched their first trilateral anti-submarine drills in five years on Sept. 30, just a day after North Korea launched its third ballistic missile test this week.

The drills were held in waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, involving the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Japan’s Asahi-class destroyer, and South Korea’s Munmu the Great destroyer, among others.

The three allies aim to enhance their navies’ interoperability and tactical capabilities to respond to any security challenge in the region, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Indo–Pacific Command.

South Korean commander Capt. Cho Choong Ho said the drills are designed to enhance their combined capabilities against “enemy submarine threats.” South Korea previously warned of a possible submarine-launched ballistic missile test by North Korea.

“We will continue such realistic high-intensity exercises so that we can react decisively and overwhelmingly against any form of provocations,” Cho said.

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, hours after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris ended her visit to South Korea. She also visited the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said the first missile flew about 300 kilometers (186 miles) at an altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles), followed by a second missile on the same trajectory. Both missiles landed on the eastern coast of North Korea.

It was the third round of missile launches by North Korea this week, extending a record pace in weapons testing as it accelerates a push to expand its arsenal and pressure Washington to accept it as a nuclear power.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired nine minutes apart from an area just north of the capital, Pyongyang, and flew toward waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol pose for a photo as they hold a bilateral meeting in Seoul on Sept. 29, 2022. Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP

Earlier, Harris met with President Yoon Suk Yeol at his office in Seoul and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend the South with a full range of its military capabilities in the event of war, Yoon’s office said.

They expressed concern over North Korea’s threats of nuclear conflict and pledged an unspecified stronger response to major North Korean provocations, including a nuclear test.

Harris described this week’s missile launches as provocations meant to “destabilize the region” and said the United States and South Korea remain committed to the “complete denuclearization” of the North.

“I cannot state enough that commitment of the United States to the defense of the Republic of Korea is ironclad,” she said.

Washington said it has attempted to engage North Korea in dialogue for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but the Kim Jong Un regime has responded only with provocations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.