S. Korea, U.S., Japan stage joint naval drills involving aircraft carrier

South Korea, the United States and Japan jointly conducted naval drills in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday to bolster their defense posture against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, the South's Navy said.

The joint exercise took place in southeastern waters off Jeju Island involving the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which has been docked at a naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The South Korean Navy's Aegis combat system-equipped destroyers and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Murasame-class destroyers joined the air defense and maritime exercise, the Navy said.

The drill was held to bolster joint capabilities and combined defense posture of the three nations against North Korea's rising nuclear and missile threat following its launch of a military spy satellite Tuesday, according to the armed service.

The trilateral drill came a day after Pyongyang claimed its reconnaissance satellite took photos of U.S. Army bases in South Korea and U.S. territories of Hawaii and Guam, as well as the USS Carl Vinson, which arrived in Busan on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the defense ministers of the three nations agreed to develop a multiyear joint drill plan and expand the scope of the exercise to better counter the North's threat. (Yonhap)

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