South Korea, US, Japan Conduct Maritime Blockade Drill Against North Korea's WMD

South Korea, the United States, and Japan are expected to conduct a maritime blockade exercise in international waters south of Jeju Island at the end of this month to prevent the proliferation of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and illegal ship-to-ship transfers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 8th, a military official stated, "Our military is planning a joint maritime blockade exercise with some countries in conjunction with the high-level meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which will be held for the first time in our country at the end of May."

While coordinating the participating countries and detailed exercise plans, the participation of the United States and Japan has been virtually confirmed. PSI is an international cooperative framework launched in 2003 to prevent the illegal proliferation of WMDs such as nuclear and biochemical weapons, delivery means, and related materials. High-level meetings are held every five years.

Following the United States (5th anniversary), Poland (10th anniversary), and France (15th anniversary), the 20th anniversary meeting will be held in South Korea at the end of this month. The government will use this opportunity to co-host this year's PSI annual exercise, "Eastern Endeavor 23." The PSI annual exercises, which began in 2014, are hosted alternately by participating countries, and the name changes depending on the host country, such as Eastern Endeavor (South Korea), Pacific Shield (Japan), Pacific Protector (Australia), and Maru (New Zealand).

This year's exercise is expected to focus on blocking scenarios where North Korea smuggles petroleum products using the "ship-to-ship" transfer method banned by the United Nations or spreads WMDs at sea.

On the 17th of last month, South Korea, the United States, and Japan also conducted a missile defense exercise in the East Sea international waters to respond to North Korea's nuclear threats. The exercise involved the ROKS Yulgok Yi I, the USS Benfold, and the JS Atago, Aegis destroyers from South Korea, the United States, and Japan, respectively.