Seoul: South Korea, the United States, and Japan on Wednesday conducted joint air drills, which included at least one B-1B bomber, the South Korean defense ministry reported. This exercise follows North Korea's recent launches of hypersonic and short-range ballistic missiles.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the trilateral drills were the first of their kind this year and featured South Korean F-15K and Japanese F-2 fighter jets. The primary goal of the exercise was to boost the allies' joint capabilities to deter and respond to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, including its recent claimed launch of a hypersonic ballistic missile.
North Korea had launched what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile on January 6, followed by several short-range ballistic missile launches on Tuesday. These missile tests were conducted shortly before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, scheduled for January 20.
The South Korean defense ministry emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to jointly deter North Korea's threats. The ministry also mentioned plans to continuously expand trilateral drills based on close collaboration.