North Korea has refused to cease production and testing of its arsenal of deadly nuclear weapons despite international condemnation.
Japan has come closest to one of Kim Jong-un’s intercontinental ballistic missile tests after a rocket was fired across Japan before landing in the Sea of Japan.
With despot leader Kim Jong-un adamant he will continue his weapons programme, US President Donald Trump has bolstered his own military presence in the region.
And now, Russia and Japan have seemingly held their own preparations in case North Korea sparks the start of World War 3.
Dramatic video footage shows soldiers on board a vessel firing their weapons before launching a series of nerve-racking rescues from helicopters and smaller boats.
Following the mission, Russian Captain First Rank Alexei Bolotnikov said: “Nine exercises were carried out, the main drills were recusing a person in the war from a helicopter, rescuing a person in a lifeboat from a boat, a captured boat was also liberated by special forces units.
“I believe that both the Russian and Japanese sides completed all the tasks set.”
While there is no official link between the exercises and the North Korea tension, the two militaries conducted the training in the Sea of Japan.
It was, in fact, the 17th time the two nations had held the SAREX drills, which are aimed to develop cooperation between their fleets.
While not commenting on the Japanese and Russian exercises, North Korea’s state media have condemned the US and South Korea who are preparing to stage a large-scale operation between December 4-8.
KCNA said: “The U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet warmongers plan to stage large-scale joint military exercises against the DPRK in the air and the sea from Dec. 4 to 8, according to the south Korean Yonhap News.
“The warmongers are going to let over 230 fighters with various missions of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces and the South Korean air force make sorties to the sky above south Korea from eight bases in Japan and South Korea in order to hold a war drill simulating an actual war.”