The naval forces of South Korea, the United States, and Japan will conduct anti-submarine exercises over two days starting today, Monday, to improve their ability to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, according to the South Korean Ministry of Defense. The ministry announced that the exercises taking place this week will use a mobile target for anti-submarine warfare training to enhance the necessary skills for detecting, tracking, and destroying North Korean underwater threats.
The drills are scheduled to take place in international waters off the southern island of Jeju in South Korea, and will involve a group of American aircraft carriers led by the "USS Nimitz," which arrived in the southeastern city of Busan last week.
The trilateral exercises come at a time when North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads last week and pledged to produce more nuclear materials used in weapon manufacturing to bolster its arsenal. The three countries conducted their last trilateral anti-submarine drills in September, marking the first such exercises in five years amid tensions over the unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea.
