TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese Self-Defense Forces said Wednesday that a joint drill with the United States and South Korea has begun in the East China Sea and its vicinity, with a U.S. aircraft carrier and fighter jets and ships from the Asian neighbors taking part amid North Korea's missile and nuclear threats.

The Freedom Edge exercise is being held for the second time, following the first in June, and is intended to showcase the "strong will" of the three countries in defending the region, while promoting their interoperability in aerial, naval and cyber domains, the SDF Joint Staff said in a press release.

The exercise will last for three or four days, according to an SDF official.

It involves U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington, Aegis destroyer Haguro from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force as well as fighter jets from the three countries, including state-of-the-art F-35A from South Korea, according to the Joint Staff.

The launch of Freedom Edge was decided among the defense ministers of the United States and its two Asian allies when they met in Singapore in June. The countries have ramped up their defense cooperation in recent years amid North Korean threats and China's assertiveness in the region.

In late October, North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which flew for nearly 86 minutes. It marked the longest-ever flight time for one of the country's missiles, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.

Less than a week after the ICBM launch and just ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, Pyongyang also fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles. Concerns also linger that the country could carry out its seventh nuclear test, and first since 2017.