The United States and Japan will take part in a three-day joint military exercise with South Korea from Nov. 13, military officials announced, shortly after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and allegedly ratified a major defense pact with Russia.
Known as “Freedom Edge,” the joint exercise will feature South Korean and Japanese fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the USS George Washington, USS Higgins, USS McCampbell, USS Dewey, F-35, F-18, P-8, and KC-135, according to a Nov. 12 statement from the U.S. Indo–Pacific Command (USPACOM).
“Freedom Edge continues to demonstrate the defensive posture and unbreakable will of Japan, the ROK, and the U.S. to promote trilateral multi-domain interoperability and to protect freedom for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, including the Korean Peninsula,” USPACOM said….