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, with the three countries looking to step up cooperation in the face of 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 exchange system has been confirmed,” South Korea's defense ministry said in a statement, adding that the device was “currently operating normally.” “The three countries implemented this system to ensure the safety of their citizens by detecting and evaluating missiles fired by North Korea in real time,” the ministry continues.
This data exchange system was approved last month by the defense ministers of the three countries, who also agreed on a program of trilateral military exercises. These agreements emerged from a meeting of the three heads of state at Camp David in August at the invitation of American President Joe Biden.
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A shot under the supervision of Kim Jong-un himself
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who personally oversaw the latest launch, said it showed the options available to Pyongyang if “Washington makes a bad decision.”
Seoul and Washington have strengthened defense cooperation amid a record series of weapons tests carried out by Pyongyang this year. South Korea's conservative government under President Yoon Suk Yeol is also working to strengthen historically strained ties with Japan, which occupied the Korean peninsula in the first half of the 20th century. The Camp David meeting was the first full-fledged summit bringing together the three leaders.
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