North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting Mount Paektu in Ryanggang Province.
Camera IconNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting Mount Paektu in Ryanggang Province. Credit: AFP, AFP / KCNA

South Korea, Japan join the US to begin missile-tracking drills as more sanctions hit N Korea

AFP, APNews Corp Australia

THE US, South Korea and Japan started joint exercises Monday to track missiles from North Korea, Seoul’s military said, following the nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s longest-range test launch to date.

The trilateral drill comes less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and declared it had achieved nuclear statehood, escalating global alarm over its weapons push.

The two-day exercise — the sixth since June last year — kicked off in waters near the Korean peninsula and Japan, Seoul’s defence ministry said.

“During the drill, Aegis warships from each country will simulate detecting and tracking down potential ballistic missiles from the North and sharing information,” it said in a statement.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Two US ships are taking part, with one each from the two Asian countries. Both South Korea and Japan have security alliances with the US, although their own relationship is marred by disputes over history and territory.

An example of the power of the US Navy. Here, Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) as it launches a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) during a live-fire test of the ship's aegis weapons system in 2014 in the Pacific Ocean.
Camera IconAn example of the power of the US Navy. Here, Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) as it launches a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) during a live-fire test of the ship's aegis weapons system in 2014 in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: AFP

Washington and Seoul staged their biggest-ever joint air drill last week in a show of force against Pyongyang, which is subject to multiple sets of UN sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.

Tension flared anew in the flashpoint peninsula after the November 29 launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM, which the North claimed could deliver a “super-large heavy warhead” anywhere on the US mainland.

Many analysts suggest that the rocket is capable of reaching the US mainland but voiced scepticism that Pyongyang has mastered the advanced technology needed to allow the rocket to survive re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.

A 1,000-kilometre range ship-to-surface missile is launched from the South Korean Navy's Aegis destroyer in waters off South Korea's east coast in South Korea, during a military drill in late November.
Camera IconA 1,000-kilometre range ship-to-surface missile is launched from the South Korean Navy's Aegis destroyer in waters off South Korea's east coast in South Korea, during a military drill in late November. Credit: AP

Last month’s launch was the first test of any kind since September 15, and quashed hopes that the North may have held back in order to open the door to a negotiated solution to the nuclear standoff.

The North’s leader Kim Jong-un has traded threats of war and personal insults with US President Donald Trump, heightening fears of another war on the peninsula once devastated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The South condemned the launch and on Monday imposed new unilateral sanctions on its neighbour.

Kim Jong-un inspecting a launching drill of the medium-and-long range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location.
Camera IconKim Jong-un inspecting a launching drill of the medium-and-long range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location. Credit: AFP, AFP/KCNA

Pyongyang regularly condemns joint exercises by the US and its neighbours as preparations for war.

But Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera said Sunday: “It is North Korea that is raising tensions. No one in the world — me, Prime Minister Abe, President Trump or Defence Secretary Mattis — is hoping to have conflicts.”

“If North Korea promises to abandon nuclear and missile programs, that will lead to dialogue,” he added while visiting an army base in northern Japan to observe a separate Japan-US drill.

North Korean soldiers and Pyongyang residents holding a rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood.
Camera IconNorth Korean soldiers and Pyongyang residents holding a rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood. Credit: AFP, AFP/KCNA

S KOREA ISSUES MORE SANCTIONS

South Korea added several North Korean groups and individuals to its sanctions list Monday in a largely symbolic move that is part of efforts to cut off funding for the North’s weapons programs. The government said those added were 20 North Korean groups, including several banks and companies, and 12 individuals.

Seoul is among the first to respond to North Korea’s Nov. 29 missile launch with fresh sanctions.

US President Donald Trump as he gestures next to China's President Xi Jinping. Both nations have been trying to get North Korea to diplomatic talks.
Camera IconUS President Donald Trump as he gestures next to China's President Xi Jinping. Both nations have been trying to get North Korea to diplomatic talks. Credit: AFP, AP

While the move is largely symbolic because all transactions between two Koreas have been banned for years, the government said it hopes its move will prompt the international community to do likewise. The measure will “remind the international community of the risks of doing transactions with the groups and individuals,” Baek Tae-hyun, South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman, said during a media briefing.

North Korean soldiers attend a mass rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood, on Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang.
Camera IconNorth Korean soldiers attend a mass rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood, on Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang. Credit: AFP

The blacklist includes Rason International Commercial Bank and Korea Zinc Industrial Group. Individuals are North Korean officials who work for the country’s banks or companies based in China, Russia, Vietnam and Namibia. U.S. President Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador has been urging the world to cut trade and diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.

Last month, North Korea has test-fired its most powerful missile ever, an ICBM that may be able to target the eastern seaboard of the United States.