U.S. and South Korea hold joint ballistic missile drill in response to North Korean launch

Women walk by news coverage of the North Korean missile launch.

(Image credit: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)

In response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, the United States and South Korea conducted a joint ballistic missile drill to demonstrate "precision firing" capabilities, the U.S. Army said in a statement.

The exercise was to counter "North Korea's destabilizing and unlawful actions on July 4," the Army added. They used the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea Hyunmoo Missile II, firing missiles into the water along South Korea's east coast. The Army said the system can be "rapidly deployed and engaged," and the "deep strike precision capability enables the ... alliance to engage the full array of time-critical targets under all weather conditions."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.