The United States and South Korea have conducted joint bombing drills over the Korean Peninsula, the first such exercise in seven years, amid heightened tensions with North Korea.
The drills involved a US B-1B bomber dropping Joint Direct Attack Munitions at a firing range in South Korea while being escorted by a South Korean F-15K fighter jet. The exercise aimed to demonstrate the “solid” combined defence posture against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The development comes after North Korea sent trash-filled balloons to the South and resorted to jamming the latter’s GPS signals.
In response, South Korea suspended a 2018 inter-Korean military pact and resumed all military activities along the demarcation line separating the two Koreas and the North West Islands. The joint drills also included air exercises with South Korean F-35A and KF-16 fighters, as well as US F-35B and F-16 jets.
The number of B-1B bombers deployed for the exercise was not specified. The US and its allies have criticized North Korea for attempting to launch a satellite-carrying rocket on May 27, while Russia and China have defended Pyongyang’s action. The UN Security Council meeting earlier this month noted that North Korea has significantly increased its missile launch activities since 2022, with more than 100 launches using ballistic missile technology. The joint bombing drills are seen as a show of force and a message to North Korea amid the ongoing tensions in the region.