UPDATE - US holds air drills with S.Korea, Japan after North’s missile fire

UPDATES WITH LAUNCH OF JOINT AIR DRILLS; MORE DETAILS

By Diyar Guldogan and Riyaz ul Khaliq

WASHINGON / ISTANBUL (AA) – The US launched trilateral air drills with South Korea and Japan following a missile launch by North Korea on Tuesday.

North Korea had fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea, or Sea of Japan, which came about two weeks after the country’s leader Kim Jong-un witnessed firing drills involving “super-large” multiple rocket launchers in the country's western region.

Kim has warned that if a war breaks out, there will be "disastrous consequences."

The three allies staged joint aerial drills involving B-52 bombers, the Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

Seoul and Tokyo confirmed the launch of a suspected ballistic missile from the Pyongyang region of North Korea.

Pyongyang had fired a new surface-to-sea cruise missile, the Padasuri-6, from its eastern coast on Feb. 14, while it launched its first ballistic missile this year on Jan. 14.

Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo have closed ranks against Pyongyang as the two sides have held regular rival military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.

The three allies now also have a real-time system in place for sharing data on North Korean missiles.