Japan, South Korea and the U.S. have conducted the first joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) drills involving the three countries amid North Korea's growing submarine-launched ballistic missile threat.
The three-day drill, which kicked off Monday, was being held in the waters between Japan and South Korea near the island of Jeju and was aimed at developing an "effective response" by the three nations to the North's submarine activities, especially its improving SLBM capabilities, the South's Defense Ministry said Monday.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force said in a statement the same day that the drill to "bolster tactical cooperation" involved the helicopter-carrying Sawagiri destroyer. South Korea sent its own destroyer and helicopter while the U.S. dispatched an Aegis-equipped destroyer and a P-3C Orion patrol plane.