Japan, S Korea hold drills after North’s missile launch

Japan, S Korea hold drills after North’s missile launch
Tue Aug 29, 2017 14:01:11

South Korea and Japan conduct separate military drills after the North launched a ballistic missile that traveled over northern Japan, sparking a fresh wave of global condemnations and warnings.

On Tuesday, four South Korean warplanes bombed a military firing range during the drill near the country’s eastern coast, said presidential spokesman Park Su-hyun.

Park said the live-fire drill was conducted after South Korean President Moon Jae-in directed the military to “display a strong capability to punish” the North.

Moon’s national security director Chung Eui-yong and Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa called US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, respectively, to discuss the launch.

“We will respond strongly based on our steadfast alliance with the United States if North Korea continues nuclear and missile provocations," the South’s Foreign Ministry also declared in a Tuesday statement.

It also urged Pyongyang to accept talks over its nuclear program and acknowledge that abandoning its nuclear ambitions is the only way to guarantee its security and economic development.

South Korea’s military also released footage of its own missile tests, which it said were carried out last week. The video clips showed two types of new missiles with ranges of 800 kilometers and 500 kilometers being fired from truck-mounted launchers during three tests performed on August 24.

In a similar move, the Japanese military deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile system at a US military base in Tokyo as part of a pre-planned maneuver. During the drill, Japan’s air force servicemen operated vehicles mounted with antennas, radars, and a launch pad for PAC-3.

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