US, Japanese troops hold live fire drill in northern Japan

The USand Japanese troops held joint-live fire drills on Monday (August 14) on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido as part of the Northern Viper exercise, one of many scheduled exercises that Japan's Self Defence Forces conduct regularly with their UScounterparts to promote cooperation between the allies.

The drills are not related to the latest tension on the Korean peninsula but are taking place as tensions between North Korea and the USare escalating.

The 18-day live fire exercise on the northern island of Hokkaido, which will include rocket artillery drills, runs through August 28 and will involve 3,500 troops.