Alwaght-The US kicked off joint naval exercises with South Korea just after North Korea’s unsuccessful missile launch on Saturday.
The US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Carl Vinson entered the Sea of Japan through the Tsusima Strait to participate in the military drills. “South Korea and US strike forces began a drill in the East Sea from 6pm (09:00 GMT) today against the backdrop of the current security situation,” South Korean Navy officials announced, referring to the Sea of Japan, as cited by Yonhap news agency.
Apart from the USS Carl Vinson, the group also includes the USS Lake Champlain, a guided-missile cruiser, as well as two destroyers, the USS Michael Murphy and the USS Wayne E. Meyer.
The drill, which is expected to last through next week, will focus on monitoring, tracing, and intercepting any intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be potentially launched by North Korea, Yonhap reports.
“The exercise is the follow-up of the naval exercise in the Yellow Sea between the two navies on Tuesday. It is aimed at deterring North Korea’s provocations and strengthening the military readiness of the Korea-US alliance,” the South Korean Navy said. The US aircraft carrier group also held joint drills with the Japanese navy earlier this week.
North Korea also recently conducted large-scale, live-fire exercises on its eastern coast as in response to joint US-South Korea war games in the region.
The country has also carried five nuclear tests, two of them last year, and is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.
Pyongyang insists that developing its military defenses including nuclear weapons is important to counter incessant provocations by the US including a possible aggression.
