Following a ballistic missile test of North Korea, the USA and South Korea have started their biggest military exercise as of yet. The exercise comes amid rising tensions on the peninsula, as North Korea keeps boosting its arms programme and condemning the joint exercises of the USA and its southern neighbour. This exercise prompted Pyongyang to claim that a 'nuclear war' would be unavoidable.

After two months of silence on the test front, North Korea has launched its most advanced missile as of date. The missile, which is claimed by North Korea to be able to hit all of mainland USA, is part of an exponential increase of testing this year. So far, 23 missiles have been launched since February. This missile is said to be capable of carrying a nuclear bomb. To launch such a combination, experts say, North Korea needs about one more year.

On Friday the APEC summit started in Vietnam, with all the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean attending (all but North Korea). The summit takes place annually and is attended by the heads of states of the participating countries. Though primarily an economic forum, the summit is also a big political event. The APEC summit this year featured numerous fringe meetings, such as the one between Duterte and Putin and between Abe and Xi Xinping.

According to North Korean state TV, the country has successfully test fired its first long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that is capable of reaching ‘anywhere in the world’, just in time for the United States’ Independence Day celebrations. This launch comes just days before the G20 Summit in Germany, making this missile test the 11^th test in 2017. Russia and China have both made calls for North Korea to cease its missile and nuclear tests, as well as military exercises between the US and South Korea. 

Guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem sailed within 12 nautical miles of one of the many disputed islands in the South China Sea, which China has accused the United States of a “serious political and military provocation.” The incident occurred near Trident Island, part of the Paracel Islands archipelago. While China asserts that this is an encroachment on its sovereignty and negatively impacts the peace and security, the United States says that their freedom-of-navigation operation (FONOP) was previously planned and had no aims in making any statement.

On Monday, North Korea fires four ballistic missiles. Three of them fell into the sea in the exclusive economic zone of Japan. So far nothing is known about the type of missiles. South Korean General Staff of the armed forces, said that the rockets were fired from the satellite station Seohane in the province of North Pyongyang. Fired missiles did not cause any loss. In order to ensure security in the region, the US forces are working closely with South Korea and Japan.