US, S. Korea to hold joint missile launch in response to North Korea's ICBM rocket launch

Seoul and Seoul held joint military exercises, while both allies fired missiles into South Korea's waters off the Japanese coast to respond to the latest North Korean missile test. The US-South Korea (USFK) statement was cited by Russian media Sputnik on Wednesday morning, July 5, 2017.

"The US and South Korean armies held a joint action on the use of weapons to cope with the destabilizing and illegal actions of North Korea on July 4," the statement said. During the exercise, the US Army AACM strategic missile system and Hyunmoo Missile II of the Republic of Korea have launched missiles to South Korea's waters along the East Coast.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced on Tuesday it successfully launched its first successful Hwasong-14 ICBM ballistic missile test. Pyongyang said the missile had traveled 933 kilometers and reached the 2,800-km peak during its 39-minute flight before it struck 100 percent off the coast of Japan.

Around this assertion, Washington also acknowledged that it was North Korea's first ICBM intercontinental ballistic missile test. In addition, Pyongyang, China, has also condemned North Korea's actions but called for everyone to remain calm so that the situation in the region would not deteriorate.