As a result of North Korea’s ongoing missile launches, Japan and the US are conducting a combined military exercise with the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in the vicinity of Japan, the Japanese defence ministry announced on Saturday.
On Thursday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the ocean with Japan as their target. The launch was the first since Pyongyang flew an intermediate-range missile over Japan on Tuesday and the sixth in the past 12 days.
Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Armed Forces have been conducting a bilateral exercise, according to the ministry. “This comes amid an increasingly tense security environment around Japan, including North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile tests,” the statement from the ministry said.
The combined exercise, in which a Japanese destroyer is taking part, started on October 1, according to the announcement. It was unclear when it was supposed to end.
This week, joint drills between the United States and South Korea were conducted.
According to a statement from North Korea’s state media KCNA on Saturday, the defence ministry was “taking a stern look at the development of the current situation, which is very worrisome,” regarding the US-South Korean drills.
