Trilateral Military Drills

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea, the United States and Japan on Tuesday began an emergency trilateral military defense drill focused on shooting down North Korean missiles. Here’s a look in today’s first story.

[Pkg]

Aegis destroyers of South Korea, the United States and Japan have arrived in waters off South Korea and Japan. This emergency military drill will last for two days and is aimed at tracing North Korean ballistic missiles. It comes in response to the North's concurrent firing of four ballistic missiles last week. The drill involves high-performance radars to detect North Korean missiles, and U.S. satellites to collect data and share it among the three nations' warships.

[Soundbite] Chang Wook(R.O.K. Navy) : "South Korea and Japan exchange information via U.S. satellites."

When North Korea pushes the "launch" button, the infrared heat-detection sensor on the U.S. early warning satellite detects the launched missile's engine, while the reconnaissance satellite, which can detect objects 15cm in size, captures the flying route of the missile. The drill was organized to prepare for the possibility of Pyongyang firing long-range missiles to mark the 105th birthday of Kim Il-sung next month and the 85th anniversary of the North Korean Army's foundation.

[Soundbite] Shin Jong-woo(Korea Defense & Security Forum) : "This exercise was held on an emergency basis to prepare for the possibility of North Korea launching long-range missiles following the unexpected firings of multiple ballistic missiles."

A South Korean military official said the drill reportedly included a virtual interception exercise using SM-3 missiles.