Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on the 11th (local time) that the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it would operate a system to share North Korean missile warning information between Korea, the United States, and Japan within the year.
According to reports, the US Department of Defense’s Office of the Spokesperson for East Asia and Pacific Affairs responded to RFA’s inquiry on the status of preparations for the ‘North Korean missile warning information sharing operation within the year’ promoted by the three countries of Korea, the United States, and Japan, saying that the goal will be achieved.
The Spokesperson’s Office then introduced what Eli Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said at a meeting with defense reporters on the 5th.
At the time, Assistant Secretary Ratner said that the goal of sharing North Korean missile warning information between Korea, the U.S. and Japan would be operational within the year, which was reconfirmed at a video conference between the defense ministers of Korea, the U.S. and Japan in November, and that the goal was to operate within this year and “we will achieve that goal.”
When asked, “Technically, how is North Korea’s missile warning information shared between Korea, the United States, and Japan?” he said, “I will let you know after confirmation,” and emphasized, “Sharing missile warning information is a very important issue for the three countries of Korea, the United States, and Japan from an operational and political perspective.”
Regarding the multi-year training plan between Korea, the United States and Japan, it was explained that it is another way to strengthen military cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan along with sharing North Korean missile warning information.
At the same time, he added that in response to North Korea’s provocations and actions, military exercises have been held occasionally between Korea, the United States, and Japan, and that the future goal is to regularize and institutionalize military exercises between Korea, the United States, and Japan.
However, the Spokesperson’s Office declined to comment on RFA’s questions about the technical details of sharing North Korean missile warning information between Korea, the United States, and Japan and the status of preparations for regularizing and institutionalizing military exercises between Korea, the United States, and Japan, saying, “There is nothing to comment on at this time.”
Previously, after the 55th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Korea on the 13th of last month, Secretary of Defense Shin Won-sik and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a joint press conference that they reaffirmed the importance of sharing North Korean missile warning information between Korea, the United States, and Japan.
At the time, Minister Shin said, “To jointly respond to North Korea’s nuclear missile threat, we will deepen the security cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan qualitatively and quantitatively, such as operating a real-time sharing system of missile warning information between Korea, the United States and Japan, and conducting systematic training through prior establishment of a multi-year trilateral training plan.” “I emphasized that it is important,” he said.
Source: Donga
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