Pacific Dragon Exercise

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea, the United States, and Japan have concluded a joint military exercise to simulate detecting and tracking North Korean missiles. The naval drill was conducted separately from the ongoing Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the largest multinational maritime warfare exercise.

[Pkg]

Prior to the Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC Exercise, South Korea, the United States, and Japan have conducted for the first time a joint maritime exercise named the Pacific Dragon to detect and track North Korean ballistic missiles. A mock ballistic missile which breaks down in three stages much like the North Korean ones was fired toward land, whereupon Aegis cruisers from the three participating countries detected and tracked the missile from the waters off Hawaii and shared the information. The South Korean navy said that the Aegis vessels from each country accurately identified the ballistic missile's trajectory from the early stages of its launch and shared information without a hitch.

[Soundbite] Adm. Lee Sang-gap (ROK Navy Commander of RIMPAC) : "We were capable of sharing information on the detection and tracking of North Korean ballistic missiles. It was a chance to further strengthen the South Korean military's readiness."

The U.S. and Japan reportedly carried out a simulation drill to intercept a ballistic missile using an SM-3 missile. An American source reported that the U.S. military has spent more than two million dollars on this exercise, apparently placing more importance on it than RIMPAC. The three allies have assessed the performance of the missile detection and tracking exercise and are reviewing ways to conduct such joint exercises on a regular basis.