Seoul, US, Tokyo hold drills over N Korea

TOKYO: South Korea, the United States and Japan began a three-day naval exercise yesterday, aimed at countering North Korea’s missile threats, a South Korean military official said.

This comes amid signs that Pyongyang may be preparing for a new missile testlaunch to test new US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Aegis-equipped destroyers from the three countries took part in the maritime exercise, the third of its kind after the missile warning exercise was held in June and November last year, the official said.

The exercise aims to boosting capabilities to detect and trace incoming missiles, as well as sharing related information among the three countries.

The move came amid speculation that North Korea would launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to coincide with Mr Trump’s inauguration as US president in Washington overnight.

Earlier in the day, the Rodong Sinmun, which serves as the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, said that “no matter who says what, our intercontinental rocket will be launched any time from any location determined by the top leadership”.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that an ICBM may be launched from the Panghyon airfield in the northwestern city of Kusong, from where North Korea test-fired a Musudan ballistic missile in October last year, which was assessed as a failed launch.

Yonhap also said South Korean and US intelligence authorities recently detected signs that North Korea has built two new ICBMs at the Jamjin missile facility in the city of Nampo near the capital Pyongyang, and mounted them onto mobile launchers for test-firing in the near future.

The two missiles are estimated to be no longer than 15m in length, making them shorter than North Korea’s existing ICBMs — the 19-20m-long KN-08 and the 17-18mlong KN-14.

During a regular media briefing, South Korea’s unification ministry spokesman reiterated the country’s assessment that Pyongyang could test-fire an ICBM at any time from any location if the top leadership decides to do so, just as a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said earlier this month.

In response to Pyongyang’s threat, the United States has said it will shoot down any missiles that threaten its territory or that of its allies.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a New Year address that his country has entered the final stage of preparing to testlaunch the long-range missile.

Mr Kim’s regime conducted two nuclear tests and test-launched more than 20 ballistic missiles last year, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.