US, Allies Stage Drills as North Korea Warns of Security Crisis

South Korean Navy's destroyer Yulgok Yi I, bottom, U.S. Navy's the guided missile destroyer USS Benfold and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Atago, top, sail during a joint missile defense drill among South Korea, the United States and Japan in the international waters of the east coast of Korean peninsular on April 17, 2023. South Korea Defense Ministry via AP

SEOUL, South Korea—The United States, South Korea, and Japan conducted a joint missile defense exercise on Monday aimed at countering North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal, as a top North Korean army official warned the United States that it risks “a clearer security crisis and insurmountable threats.”

Last week, North Korea conducted one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations in years by flight-testing for the first time an intercontinental ballistic missile powered by solid fuel. It is considered a more mobile, harder-to-detect weapon and could directly target the continental United States.