It was confirmed today (7th) that the United States marked the site of the missile defense training in the East Sea of ​​South Korea, the United States, and Japan in response to North Korea's interim-range ballistic missile (IRBM) provocation as 'Sea of ​​Japan', but revised it after a few hours. .



The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced yesterday afternoon that South Korea, the U.S., and Japan had conducted a missile defense exercise in the Sea of ​​Japan.



Intasa's Office of Public Reconciliation and Reconnaissance said in a distribution document, "After the launch of a ballistic missile that flew over Japan on the 4th, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser Chancellor'sville (CG 62) and Arleigh Burke-class guided missiles, which constitute the Ronald Reagan carrier strike group, The destroyer Benfold (DDG 65) conducted a three-party ballistic missile defense exercise in the Sea of ​​Japan with the ROK Navy's Sejong the Great (DDG), the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyers Chokai (DDG 176), and Ashigara (DDG 178) on the 6th. "He said.



However, a few hours later, this morning, Inta-sa changed the notation to 'waters between Korea and Japan'.



Enlarging an image


However, all photo materials distributed on the website of the US Department of Defense are still marked as 'Sea of ​​Japan'.



The South Korean military announced this exercise as the 'East Sea Missile Defense Exercise'.



Kim Seung-gyeom, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained in a state audit yesterday that the sea area where the South Korea-U.S.-Japan drill took place was about 185 km away from Dokdo and that it was the same sea area as the South Korea-U.S.-Japan anti-submarine warfare exercise on the 30th of last month.



There is concern that the South Korea-US-Japan military exercises around the Korean Peninsula will be expanded into a 'triangular military alliance', and the East Sea exercise is particularly sensitive to Japan's claim to sovereignty over Dokdo.



Being aware of this sensitivity, the US military marked the 'waters east of the Korean peninsula' when distributing materials related to the South Korea-U.S.-Japan exercise in the East Sea at the end of last month.



(Photo = Captured from the website of the US Indo-Pacific Corporation, Yonhap News)