US, South Korea and Japan conduct naval drills as tensions deepen with North Korea

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted combined naval exercises involving an American aircraft carrier in their latest show of strength against nuclear-armed North Korea, South Korea’s military said Wednesday, as three countries’ senior diplomats were to meet in Seoul to discuss the deepening standoff with Pyongyang. The training in waters off South Korea’s Jeju island came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues a provocative run in weapons testing and threats. At Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament this week, Kim declared that North Korea would abandon its long-standing commitment to a peaceful unification with South Korea, citing what he described as Seoul’s hostility.