S. Korea, US hold joint air drills after N. Korea’s ICBM provocations

Feb 20, 2023, 08:58 am

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In a joint ROK-US exercise prepared by South Korean and US military authorities on Sunday in response to North Korea’s provocation of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch, the US Air Force’s B-1B strategic bomber along with the ROK Air Force’s F-35A stealth fighters and the US F-16 fighters are flying in formation over the Korean Peninsula./ Source: Joint Chiefs of Staff

AsiaToday reporters Lee Seok-jong

South Korean and US military authorities conducted a joint military exercise using US strategic assets over the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The foreign ministers of South Korean, the US, and Japan, who had gathered in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC), held an emergency meeting where they strongly condemned North Korea’s ICBM launch and decided to deepen security cooperation among the three countries.

In preparation against the possibility of North Korea’s additional provocations, US confirmed its willingness to fulfill its extended deterrence pledge, sending a strong message against the North.

“South Korea and the United States staged combined air drills, involving U.S. B-1B strategic bomber on Sunday,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. During the drills, F-35A stealth fighters and F-15K jets from the South flew together with US F-16 fighters to escort the B-1B aircraft entering the South’s air defense identification zone, according to the JCS.

In the combined exercise, they have mobilized some 10 aircraft in total. They flew in a formation over the southern region of the South, the Yellow Sea and the East Sea.

“The exercise demonstrated the South Korea-US combined defense capabilities and posture featuring the alliance’s overwhelming forces, through the timely and immediate deployment of the US’ extended deterrence assets to the Korean Peninsula,” an official from the JCS said. “We also affirmed Washington's ironclad commitment to the defense of the peninsula and its extended deterrence pledge.”

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The Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday that North Korea fired a Hwasong-15 missile from Pyongyang airport on Feb. 18, 2023./ Source: Yonhap News

The North fired an alleged long-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea at 5:22 p.m. on Saturday from the Sunan district of Pyongyang. According to North Korean media reports, a Hwasong-15 missile was fired after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered a surprise “launch drill”. The missile flew 989 kilometers for 4,015 seconds at an apogee of 5,768.5 km and landed in the international waters of the East Sea.

Immediately after the North’s ICBM launch, the South Korean presidential office held a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) standing committee. “The North’s latest missile firing is a grave violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation that heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region,” said National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han.

“The North’s long-range ballistic missile launch this time is an act of significant provocation that harms peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community,” the JCS said. It also called the launch a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and urged the North to immediately stop such a provocative act.

#South Korea #US #joint drill #North Korea #ICBM