SEOUL, South Korea – The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan launched a new round of naval drills with South Korean warships on Friday, a day after North Korea fired more ballistic missiles and flew warplanes in an escalation of tensions with its rivals.
The Reagan and its battle group returned to the waters near the Korean Peninsula after North Korea earlier this week launched a nuclear-capable missile over Japan in response to the carrier group´s earlier training with South Korean navy ships. North Korea views US-South Korean military exercises as a practice to invade the country.
The latest two-day drills, which also involve US and South Korean destroyers and other ships, were taking place in international waters off the peninsula´s east coast.
The drills are aimed at bolstering the allies´ defense capabilities and will involve training to escort the Reagan southeast of South Korea´s southern island of Jeju, South Korea´s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
“We will continue to strengthen our firm operational capabilities and readiness to respond to any provocations by North Korea,” the statement said according to AP.
North Korea may react to the new drills with more missile tests. The North´s Foreign Ministry said the carrier group´s redeployment poses “a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity.”
Later Friday, the top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan had trilateral phone talks and agreed to increase their efforts to block the North´s alleged cryptocurrency thefts and other means to finance its nuclear and missile programs.
