US sends aircraft carrier to conduct naval exercises with South Korea and Japan

On January 17, the South Korean military said that the naval exercise between the US, Japan and South Korea took place in the waters off Jeju Island, lasting 3 days, starting on April 17.

The trilateral naval exercise involved nine warships from the countries, including the US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and Aegis destroyers from South Korea and Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The US, South Korea and Japan conduct naval exercises as tensions with North Korea escalate. (Photo: AP)

According to the JCS, the exercise aims to enhance the countries' combined deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear, missile and underwater threats, and coordinate operations to prevent illegal transportation of weapons of mass destruction at sea.

The US, Japan and South Korea naval drills come as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to conduct weapons tests, escalating tensions in the region to their highest level in years.

In Seoul, South Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Gunn is scheduled to meet his Japanese counterpart Namazu Hiroyuki one day before a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden's deputy special representative for North Korea, Jung Pak, to coordinate responses to the threat from North Korea.

In the face of North Korea's growing nuclear threat, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration has expanded military cooperation and training with the United States and Japan. He has also sought a strong commitment from the United States that Washington will quickly and decisively use its nuclear capabilities to defend its allies in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea.

The US and South Korea have also taken steps to strengthen cooperation in deterring North Korea. US nuclear submarines and nuclear-capable aircraft have been continuously present on the Korean peninsula recently.

This week, leader Kim Jong-un announced that North Korea was abandoning its long-standing commitment to peaceful unification with South Korea, calling for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the idea of unification between the two Koreas.

North Korea recently conducted its first ballistic test in 2024. This was the launch of a new solid-fuel medium-range missile with a hypersonic warhead. According to AP , this move shows Pyongyang's efforts to improve its weapons capabilities that can strike US military bases in Guam and Japan.

Kong Anh (Source: ABC News)

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