South Korea, Japan and the United States conducted joint air exercises on Sunday with an American strategic bomber, the South Korean military announced, after Pyongyang's longest missile launch. These exercises are being held three days after Pyongyang launched one of its solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), one of the most powerful and advanced in its arsenal, capable, according to experts, of reaching targets in the United States.
The US B-1B bomber, South Korean F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, as well as Japanese F-2 jets, were mobilized for the exercises, the military said. “The exercise demonstrates the U.S.-South Korea alliance's commitment to integrated extended deterrence in response to North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats,” the statement said. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement.
Fourth deployment of the year to Korea for the US
During the maneuvers, South Korean and Japanese aircraft escorted the U.S. strategic bomber to a designated location south of the Korean Peninsula, “demonstrating a strong capability to quickly and accurately strike targets,” the military added. .
It is the fourth deployment this year of a strategic bomber over the Korean Peninsula, the military said, and the second as part of a trilateral air exercise aimed at countering military threats from Pyongyang. The B-1B is a long-range bomber capable of carrying conventional weapons and precision-guided weapons.
Originally designed for nuclear capabilities, this bomber shifted to an exclusively conventional combat role in the 1990s. The latest ICBM launched from North Korea reportedly flew higher and further than any previous missiles, according to Pyongyang and the armed forces of Seoul and Tokyo, who followed him in real time.
