US, Japan, South Korea activate intelligence sharing system on North Korean missiles

Asia-Pacific, News, US December 20, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States and its close allies Japan and South Korea activated a real-time intelligence sharing system on North Korean missiles on December 19, 2023, enhancing security cooperation to effectively detect and respond to missile launches.

South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement, “The three countries established the system to detect and evaluate missiles launched by North Korea in real time to ensure the safety of their citizens and enhance related capabilities.”

A Japanese Defense Ministry official said, “By supplementing our blind spots, we can decide more quickly whether we need to intercept missiles. This also means we can intercept them with greater accuracy.”

According to a Japanese cabinet official, data from South Korean intelligence would help Japan’s J-Alert missile warning system and “issue warnings more quickly”, which would help the country to decide which areas to target more accurately.

The intelligence sharing system is an extension of the 2014 Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement that connects these two channels, enabling the nations to swiftly analyze missile launches and trajectories. The three-nation coalition launched the intelligence-sharing system as North Korea continue to advance its missile and nuclear capabilities.

On December 17, North Korea launched the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a site near Pyongyang. According to the North Korean news agency, KCNA, the missile traveled up to a maximum altitude of 6,518 kilometers, flew a distance of 1,002 km, and accurately hit the intended target in the open waters off the East Sea of Korea.

North Korea Hwasong-18 ICBM launch — *^{Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s strategic force conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile “Hwasongpo-18” launch exercise on December 17, 2023. (Image Credit: KCNA)}*

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and commanding officers observed the missile launch and reviewed the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear war deterrence. Kim said that the “launching drill sent a clear signal to the hostile forces.”

North Korea also lashed out at South Korea and the U.S. for destabilizing the Korean Peninsula and ramping up military activities in the region. The KCNA released a statement, blaming the U.S. and South Korea for “conducting the wartime combined special operation drill and combined science combat drill,” as well as intensifying the anti-North Korea campaign.

Last week, the United States and South Korea issued a dire warning to North Korea over any nuclear attack against the U.S. or its regional allies. A joint statement by the U.S. and South Korea highlighted that any nuclear attack from Pyongyang would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime.

The U.S. and South Korea also convened the second Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting in Washington on December 15. The meeting focused on talks for nuclear deterrence and fulfilling commitments made by the two countries to share more insight into planning in the event of conflict with North Korea.

^{U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan with South Korean National Security Advisor Cho Tae-Yong and Japanese National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba on December 9, 2023. (Image Credit: AP/U.S. Mission of Korea)}

Separately on December 17, 2023, A U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered USS Missouri submarine, entered a key naval base in the South Korean southern port city of Busan, located 320 kilometers from Seoul. The South Korean Navy said in a statement, “With the deployment of the USS Missouri, we plan to strengthen naval exchanges and cooperation with the United States and to bolster our combined defense posture.”

The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the region amid increasing threats from North Korea. Three weeks earlier, the USS Santa Fe (SSN-763), a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine, entered South Korea’s Jeju Naval Base.