South Korea, Japan and the United States will hold their joint military exercises in Shahrivar to assess their readiness against missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday that the annual “Freedom Edge” exercise will be held in international waters in the south of the country.

In a statement, the Joint Chiefs said: “This exercise is defensive, and the three countries hold it annually to counter nuclear and missile threats from North Korea and to safeguard peace and regional stability.”

The U.S. Pacific Command, in a statement, called this year’s exercise “the most advanced display of trilateral cooperation to date.”