The US Navy's USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group has arrived in the Sea of Japan to conduct trilateral ballistic missile defence exercises with two Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyers and one South Korean Navy destroyer, a senior US defence official said on Thursday, October 6.
The US Department of Defense (DOD) said the exercises come in the wake of another ballistic missile test conducted by North Korea on Thursday.
In this recent test, two short-range missiles were fired. Two days prior, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan.
"The United States strongly condemns this irresponsible act, which violates numerous UN Security Council mandates," Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Ryder added that the US urges North Korea to cease this type of "provocative action," as such actions escalate military tensions, destabilise the region, and harm efforts at peace and security.
