(LEAD) Allies stage air power demonstration following N.K. missile launches

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with press release in paras 3-5; RECASTS lead; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States conducted a combined air power demonstration involving 20 warplanes, including F-35A stealth fighters, over the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, Seoul officials said, in another display of their readiness following North Korea's weekend missile launches.

The air maneuvers came just a day after the allies fired eight ground-to-ground ballistic missiles into the East Sea in a tit-for-tat response to the North's launch of eight short-range ballistic missiles Sunday.

In the demonstration, the South mobilized 16 combat aircraft, including F-35As, F-15Ks and KF-16s, while the U.S. deployed four F-16 fighters, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

"The South and the U.S. demonstrated their strong capabilities to rapidly and accurately strike in the event of any North Korean provocations, as well as their will to do so," the JCS said in a press release.

It added that the South Korean military, in close coordination with the U.S., is maintaining a "firm" readiness posture.

Seoul and Washington have been stepping up security coordination through such displays of military might in the wake of Pyongyang's continued saber-rattling amid concerns about the possibility of it carrying out an underground nuclear test.

Seoul officials have warned that Pyongyang's military provocations will be met with "corresponding" reactions.

Shortly after the North's launch of three ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile, on May 25, the South and the U.S. conducted combined missile launches in their first such joint move since 2017.

The allies also conducted a naval exercise near the peninsula involving a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier last week.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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