South Korea and the United States conduct joint air drills in a show of force against North Korean military threats on Feb. 20, 2025, in this file photo provided by the South’s defense ministry. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and the United States on Tuesday staged joint air drills, involving at least one U.S. B-1B bomber, over the Korean Peninsula, the defense ministry said, in a show of force against North Korean military threats.
The drills, which also mobilized South Korean F-35A and F-16 fighter jets and U.S. F-16s, were designed to demonstrate the allies’ capabilities to respond to North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats, according to the ministry.
The drills coincided with the 113th birth anniversary of North Korea’s late state founder Kim Il-sung, a major national holiday in the North, called the “Day of the Sun.”
“In order to deter and respond to North Korea’s threats, South Korea and the U.S. will continue to expand combined exercises and strengthen the level of cooperation of the South Korea-U.S. alliance,” the ministry said.
It did not specify the number of B-1Bs deployed or the exact location of the drills.
The exercise marked the second one of its kind this year after the allies staged similar drills, involving the U.S. heavy bomber, on Feb. 20.
North Korea has often reacted angrily to the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, accusing Washington of raising tensions.
Pyongyang threatened to use “strategic means” to counter threats from the U.S. after the allies’ February drills.
The allies’ latest exercise also took place after the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month when the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.
(Yonhap)
