Japan, US hold joint drill within hours of North Korea missile launch
- Eight Japanese and four US fighter jets took part in the drill in airspace west of the country’s Kyushu region, a Joint Staff statement announced
- ‘We are taking swift action’, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after talks with head of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino
Japanese and US military planes carried out a joint drill on Tuesday in response to a North Korean ballistic missile launch, Japanese officials said.
Japan’s Joint Staff said eight Japanese and four US fighter jets took part in the drill in airspace west of the country’s Kyushu region.
“As the security environment surrounding Japan grows increasingly severe, including North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile that flew over Japan, the Self-Defence Forces and the US military conducted a joint exercise,” the Joint Staff said in a statement.
The forces “confirmed their readiness and demonstrated domestically and abroad the strong determination of Japan and the United States to deal with any situation”, it added.
The announcement came soon after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held talks with the head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino.