South Korean Navy's destroyer Yulgok Yi I (R), US Navy's USS Benfold (C) and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's JS Atago (L) sail in formation during a joint naval exercise in 2023 South Korean Defense Ministry/Getty Images Seoul, South Korea —

The United States, South Korea and Japan this week are conducting “advanced” trilateral air and naval exercises in East Asia, less than two weeks after the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea issued an unprecedented challenge to the US-led world order.

The Freedom Edge 2025 exercise, being conducted around South Korea’s southern Jeju Island, is aimed at “countering North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and safeguarding peace and stability in the region,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a news release.

The US military

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