South Korea, Japan and the United States will hold joint military exercises from September 9 to 11 to test their readiness to counter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea. UNN reports this, citing Reuters.
Details
The annual "Freedom Edge" exercises, which are defensive in nature, will take place in international waters south and east of the southern South Korean island of Jeju, according to a statement from Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The trilateral exercises are taking place after U.S. President Donald Trump reduced the scale of major joint exercises with South Korea, and the United States subsequently canceled joint Marine Corps exercises scheduled for next month.
Trump partly cited Seoul’s refusal to provide assistance in the war with Iran and said that the "Ulchi Freedom Shield" exercises, held this month, sent the wrong signal to North Korea. At the same time, Trump is trying to arrange a new summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. They met in 2018 and 2019
We remind you
South Korea’s Ministry of Defense said that North Korea continues preparations for an additional deployment of troops to Russia, but found no signs that such a deployment is imminent.