S. Korea, U.S., Japan hold joint air drills

3/11/2024 16:28

        South Korea, the United States and Japan held joint air drills involving the U.S. strategic bomber on Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
        
        The trilateral drills took place over waters east of South Korea's southern island of Jeju, the JCS said in a statement, adding that this is the fourth time this year that the U.S. strategic bomber has flown to the Korean Peninsula.
        
        F-15K, KF-16 fighter jets from the South Korean air force, at least one B-1B bomber and F-16 fighter jets from the U.S. air force, and F-2 fighter jets from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force were mobilized for the combined air exercises, said the JCS.
        
        During the drills, the U.S. bomber, escorted by fighter jets from the three countries, struck a simulated target, said the statement, noting that the drills marked the second air exercise between the three countries this year.
        
        The exercise was in response to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Oct. 31, said the JCS.