South Korea, the United States and Japan kicked off their inaugural multi-domain exercise on Thursday as the allies boost military cooperation to respond to threats from North Korea.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS), the three-day exercise, dubbed "Freedom Edge," taking place from June 27 to 29, is aimed at improving interoperability between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as well as protecting freedom for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Korean Peninsula. 

Their first ever multi-domain exercise will focus on ballistic missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction, and defensive cyber training.

The three countries mobilized various warships and aircraft, including the U.S. Navy's USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, South Korea's ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong destroyer and Japan's JS Ise helicopter destroyer.

The leaders of the three countries agreed to hold annual trilateral multi-domain exercises on a regular basis during the Camp David Summit last August, as part of joint efforts to deter evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.