On 6 October a trilateral ballistic missile defence (BMD) exercise was held in the waters between Korea and Japan. This follows the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) ballistic missile launches over the past two weeks, including over Japan on 4 October. The warships involved in the trilateral BMD exercise were the cruiser USS Chancellorsville and destroyer USS Benfold, (units of the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group), Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyers JS Chokai and JS Ashigara and Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great.
