The United States, Japan and South Korea finished a series of missile defense exercises in a show of unity and power two quiet North Korea and China, who have each undertaken provocative acts in the previous months, Reuters reports.
The exercises began on last Monday (local time) and wrapped up this weekend. The event included a test deployment of the U.S. military’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, a system deployed in South Korea in 2016, which raised tension with North Korea, which had been testing missile systems that reportedly could hit the continental United States.
Along with the missile defense drills, South Korea announced that it would host field training with the United States August 22nd to September 1st. It will be the first live joint training exercise between the two countries since 2017. Donald Trump ordered the cancelation of military exercises with South Korea as he courted North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. The previously annual exercises were canceled jointly by both countries in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.