US, allies conduct more drills in face of N. Korean threat

S Korean Navy’s destroyer Yulgok Yi I, (bottom), U.S. Navy’s guided missile destroyer USS Benfold and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer Atago, (top), during a joint missile defense drill Monday. Pic/AP

The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted a joint missile defense exercise Monday in waters near the Korean Peninsula as they expand military training to counter the growing threats of North Korea's nuclear-capable missiles.

Last week, North Korea conducted one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations in years by flight-testing for the first time an intercontinental ballistic missile powered by solid propellants, as it pursues a weapon that's more responsive, harder to detect and could directly target the continental United States.

North Korea's unprecedented run of weapons tests has so far involved more than 100 missiles of various ranges fired into the sea since the start of 2022 as the country attempts to build a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten its rival neighbours and the United States.

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The South Korea-U.S.-Japan training could trigger a belligerent response from North Korea, which condemns the United States' military drills with its Asian allies as invasion rehearsals. The North has used those drills as a pretext to accelerate its own weapons development, creating a cycle of tit-for-tat that has raised tensions in recent months.

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