S. Korea, U.S. stage air drills, involving B-52H strategic bomber after N.K. ICBM launch

All News 20:14 July 13, 2023

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States conducted combined air drills, involving at least one U.S. B-52H strategic bomber, over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, a day after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The North's state media has confirmed the country fired a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM on Wednesday, raising tensions already heightened by the North's accusations earlier this week claiming U.S. military spy aircraft "intruded" into the area over its exclusive economic zone.

The South deployed F-15K fighters to the drills, while the U.S. also sent F-16 jets, the JCS said, without specifying where in the peninsula the exercise took place.

"Through this exercise, South Korea and the United States enhanced combined operational capabilities through the swift deployment of the U.S. extended deterrence asset that was coordinated in a timely manner," the JCS said in a release.

It said the drills demonstrated the U.S.' resolve to carry out its "extended deterrence" commitment, adding that the South Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to realize "peace through strength" based on their "overwhelming" capabilities.

Extended deterrence refers to America's commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.

The U.S. pledged to enhance the "regular visibility" of strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula in a joint declaration issued by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden during their summit in Washington in April.