South Korea, Japan and US to hold North Korea-focused nuclear missile drill

SEOUL – South Korea, Japan and the United States will conduct joint military drills from Sept 9 to 11 to test readiness against North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons threats, South Korea said on Aug 28.The annual Freedom Edge drills, which are defensive in nature, will be held in international waters to the south and east of the South Korean southern island of Jeju, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.The trilateral exercise comes after US President Donald Trump scaled back a major joint exercise with South Korea and then the US subsequently cancelled a joint Marine Corps drill scheduled for September.Trump cited in part Seoul’s refusal to offer help in the Iran war and said the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills in August sent a wrong message to North Korea. Trump has been trying to hold a new summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.The two met in 2018 and 2019. REUTERS