South Korea, Japan, US hold naval drills amid North Korea threats

The two-day drills held in international waters between South Korea and Japan from Thursday brought together the air carrier Theodore Roosevelt and the destroyers Howard, Russell and Daniel Inouye, with warships from the Asian neighbours. North Korea has been accelerating weapons development, testing solid-fuel hypersonic missiles last week, and leader Kim Jong Un said on Wednesday now was the time to be more prepared for war than ever, citing an unstable geopolitical situation.