South Korea, the United States and Japan activated a real-time data-sharing system on North Korean missile launches on Tuesday (December 19), Seoul announced, as the three countries seek to strengthen cooperation against Pyongyang . The day before, North Korea fired its Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, the most powerful weapon in its arsenal.
“The full operational capability of North Korea’s real-time missile warning data sharing system has been confirmed,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the device “is currently operating normally “. “The three countries established this system to ensure the security of their citizens by detecting and evaluating missiles launched by North Korea in real time,” the ministry continued.
This data sharing system was decided last month by the defense ministers of the three countries, who also agreed on a program of trilateral military exercises. These agreements resulted from a meeting of the three heads of state at Camp David in August, hosted by Joe Biden.
A shot supervised by Kim Jong-un himself
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who personally oversaw the latest launch, said it demonstrated the options available to Pyongyang if “Washington made a bad decision.”
Seoul and Washington have strengthened defense cooperation in the face of a record series of weapons tests carried out by Pyongyang this year. South Korea’s conservative government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is also working to strengthen historically strained ties with Japan, which occupied the Korean peninsula during the first half of the 20th century. The Camp David meeting was the first full-fledged summit bringing together the three leaders.