Japan, US, S. Korea hold 1st trilateral multi-domain exercise

Japan, the US and South Korea kicked off their first trilateral joint exercise across multiple domains, including land, sea, air and cyber, on Thursday in international waters, the Japanese Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The three-day drills, called Freedom Edge, "will focus on ballistic missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction, and defensive cyber trainings," the JCS said in a statement. "The Freedom Edge exercise expresses the will of Japan, ROK (South Korea) and US to promote trilateral interoperability and protect freedom for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, including the Korean Peninsula," the JCS said, adding that the three countries will continue to expand the Freedom Edge exercise. Multiple ships and aircraft from Japan, the US and South Korea are participating in the exercise, including the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Atago, US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and South Korea's destroyer Seoae Ryu Seong-ryo ng, according to the JCS. The implementation of the trilateral exercise was agreed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during their Camp David summit last August as part of their joint efforts to respond to increasing concerns over North Korean military threats. The exercise comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed the "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty after their summit talks in Pyongyang last week, which included military assistance by all means if either is attacked. Source: Kuwait News Agency