Status: 09/26/2022 11:50 a.m
South Korea and the United States are conducting joint naval maneuvers for the first time in five years. More than 20 ships and various aircraft are in use. North Korea conducted another missile test the day before.
The naval forces of the USA and South Korea have started a joint maneuver. The four-day exercise off the Korean Peninsula was intended to “demonstrate the determination of both allies to respond to North Korean provocations,” South Korea’s Navy said. It is also intended to improve the ability of both navies to conduct joint operations.
For their maneuvers in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the two countries are mobilizing more than 20 naval vessels, including destroyers, as well as fighter jets and helicopters. According to the South Korean Navy, exercises by special forces and anti-submarine warfare are planned. The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is also involved. He arrived in South Korea on Friday with escort ships.
North Korea responds with missile test
Washington is Seoul’s most important military ally. Around 28,500 US soldiers are stationed in South Korea. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sworn in in May, would like to increase the number of joint maneuvers with the United States in view of the ongoing tensions with Pyongyang. The exercise that has now begun is intended to “deter North Korea from threats with nuclear weapons and missiles,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
The last joint military exercise of this magnitude was in 2017 in response to North Korean nuclear and missile tests. Since then, the size of such exercises has been scaled back to support negotiations with North Korea. However, these talks have now come to a standstill. North Korea has tested a record number of missiles this year.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un at a Labor Party meeting. The one-party state accuses the US of preparing an attack with South Korea through its military maneuvers.
Image: via REUTERS
The sea exercise starts a day after another missile test by North Korea. According to the South Korean military, it was a short-range ballistic missile. The rocket was fired 600 kilometers east into the open sea. According to experts, the projectile could also have reached the South Korean port where the “Ronald Reagan” had previously docked.
The test was also seen as a response to the first deployment of a US aircraft carrier to South Korea in almost four years and the previously planned maneuver. North Korea regularly accuses the United States of preparing an attack through its military maneuvers with South Korea – which both countries deny.
Tensions in the region are increasing
North Korea is subject to international sanctions for its nuclear weapons program. UN resolutions ban the largely isolated country from testing any type of ballistic missile, which, depending on the design, can also carry a nuclear warhead. South Korea accused the neighboring country of provocation.
Tensions in the region have risen following a series of nuclear-capable missile tests by North Korea this year. South Korea fears that the North could soon test a submarine-launched ballistic missile again. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was informed on Saturday that there were signs of preparations in North Korea, according to his office.
The USA and South Korea have also long feared a new nuclear test by the regime in Pyongyang. The nuclear dispute with the country will also be a focus of US Vice President Kamala Harris’ planned talks in Seoul on Thursday.