“Following the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s ballistic missile launch over Japan on Oct. 4 (JST), US Marine Corps fighters joined Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fighters in a bilateral exercise over the Sea of Japan on Oct. 4.," PACOM said in a press release.
Soldiers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Western Army Infantry Regiment
© AFP 2023 / Frederic J. Brown
“Following the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s ballistic missile launch over Japan Oct. 4 (KST), US Indo-Pacific Command and Republic of Korea (ROK) personnel conducted a bilateral exercise over the West Sea on Oct. 4 (KST) to showcase combined deterrent and dynamic strike capabilities while demonstrating our nation’s bilateral interoperability,” PACOM said in a separate press release.
The drills were held following yet another launch of a ballistic missile by Puongyang toward the Sea of Japan. The country intensified projectile launches in 2022, conducting over 20 launches since the beginning of the year.