The day after North Korea’s missile launch, the US conducts air exercises with allies

Seoul:

The United States held bilateral air exercises with South Korea and Japan involving strategic bombers on Sunday, a day after North Korea fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a “sudden launch exercise.”

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exercise, in which South Korea’s F-35A, F-15K and US F-16 fighters escorted US B-1B bombers, demonstrated the Allies’ “overwhelming” defensive capabilities and readiness.

“(The exercise) strengthened the combined operations capability and reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the defense of the Korean Peninsula and the implementation of comprehensive deterrence,” the Army of the South said in a statement.

Japan flew F-15s over the Sea of ​​Japan with the US armed forces’ B-1 bombers and F-16s in tactical exercises, Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, calling the security environment “increasingly strict” after the latest North Korean missile. landed in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“This bilateral exercise reaffirms the strong will between Japan and the United States to respond to any situation, the preparedness of (the Japanese self-defense forces) and the United States armed forces, and further strengthens the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance.” said the ministry.

The air exercises come a day after North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast following warnings of a strong response to upcoming military exercises by South Korea and the United States.

North Korea’s state media KCNA said the country conducted a “sudden launch exercise” on Saturday, a “factual proof” of its efforts to “convert the capability of a fatal nuclear counterattack against the enemy forces into an irresistible strike”.

Leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, issued another warning, accusing the United States of trying to turn the UN Security Council into what she called a “tool for its horrendous hostile policy” toward Pyongyang.

“I warn that we will monitor every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very strong and overwhelming countermeasures against any movement hostile to us,” she said in a statement.

Saturday’s missile launch, the North’s first since Jan. 1, came after Pyongyang threatened Friday with an “unprecedented sustained, strong” response as South Korea and the United States geared up for their annual military exercises as part of efforts to to repel the growing nuclear attack. and missile threat that poses the north.

North Korea’s state news agency said the missile flew for 1 hour, 6 minutes and 55 seconds, reaching as far as 5,768 km (3,584 mi), before accurately hitting a preset area 989 km (614 mi) away in open water. It first fired a Hwasong-15 in 2017.

‘WITHOUT WARNING’

Last year, nuclear-armed North Korea fired an unprecedented number of missiles, including ICBMs that could strike anywhere in the United States, as it resumed preparations for its first nuclear test since 2017.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Saturday’s launch “clearly” indicates the North’s intention to carry out further provocations.

“If North Korea conducts its seventh nuclear test, which is about to happen, it will be a game changer in that North Korea can develop and deploy tactical nuclear missiles,” Park said Saturday at the Munich security conference.

KCNA said the North’s latest launch, led by the Missile General Bureau, was carried out under an “emergency firepower combat order” given at dawn, followed by a written order from Kim Jong-un at 8 a.m. (11 p.m. GMT on Friday). The South Korean military said it detected the missile at 5:22 pm (0822 GMT).

“The most important thing here is that the exercise was ordered on the very day, with no warning to the crew involved,” said Ankit Panda, a missile expert with the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The amount of time between order and launch is likely to be shortened through additional testing.”

Analysts say North Korea is likely to conduct more weapons tests, including a possible new solid-fuel rocket that could help the North deploy its missiles more quickly in the event of a war.

North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned under UN Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter “hostile policies” from Washington and its allies.

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