S.korea To Hold Joint Drills To Deal With North's Ballistic Missiles
South Korea's defense ministry has announced that it will hold joint exercises to detect and track North Korea's ballistic missiles with Japan, the United States and other countries.
The ministry told reporters on Monday that the drills will take place off Hawaii from Monday through August 14.
South Korean media reported that Australia and Canada will also join the exercises. Participating countries will hold drills to detect and track dummy warheads on the assumption that they are ballistic missiles. The US reportedly will also conduct drills to intercept them.
The defense ministers of Japan, the US and South Korea agreed in June to resume joint exercises to deal with North Korea's ballistic missile launches. The joint exercises had been suspended since December 2017.
Meanwhile, South Korea's defense ministry submitted a report on the North's missile development to the parliament on Monday.
It said North Korea is suspected of upgrading missiles using solid fuel while making preparations to re-launch the Hwasong-17, a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile using liquid fuel.
The South Korean government is apparently stepping up efforts to strengthen cooperation with Japan and the US as North Korea accelerates development of its nuclear and missile capabilities.