Japan and the United States are carrying out a joint military drill involving the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in areas near the archipelago, following continued missile launches by North Korea, reported the Saturday the Ministry of Defense of Japan.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in the direction of Japan on Thursday. The missile launch was the sixth in 12 days and the first since Pyongyang launched an intermediate-range missile over Japan on Tuesday.

“Amid an increasingly dire security environment surrounding Japan, including North Korea’s repeated launches of ballistic missiles, the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the United States Armed Forces have been conducting a bilateral exercise “, the ministry said in a statement.

The joint drill, in which a Japanese destroyer is participating, has been underway since Oct. 1, according to the statement. It was not indicated when it is scheduled to end.

The United States and South Korea have held joint exercises this week.

North Korea’s Defense Ministry was “sternly analyzing the development of the current situation, which is very worrying,” in connection with the US and South Korean exercises, North Korean state media KCNA said on Saturday. a statement.