Korea, U.S., Japan conduct missile defense drills

South Korea, the United States and Japan participated in a ballistic missile defense exercise off Hawaii’s coast last week, the Pentagon said  as the United States and South Korea also began preliminary training for full joint exercises between the two countries’ militaries next week.

The drills took place during the biennial Pacific Dragon exercise, which has taken place every two years and took place this year from Aug. 8 to 14. The South Korean Navy participated in the exercise in 2018 and 2020, but the Moon Jae-in administration did not disclose it at the time.

The three countries’ defense chiefs met on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore in June and agreed to regularize and conduct the drill publicly.