
South Korea, US, Japan stage joint air drills involving B-52 bomber
The exercise took place over international waters off the southern South Korean island of Jeju and involved at least one US B-52H bomber as well as the South's KF-16 and Japan's F-2 fighters, according to the ministry. It marked the strategic bomber's first deployment near the Korean Peninsula this year.
"Based on close coordination, the three countries will cooperate to jointly deter and respond to North Korea's threats while continuing with three-way training," it said in a release.
The exercise came as the top military officers of the three countries convened in Seoul for a regular meeting to discuss the security situation and ways to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation.
It came less than a month after South Korea, the US and Japan conducted joint aerial drills on June 18, in what marked the first such exercise held under the Lee Jae Myung government.
Earlier on June 15, South Korea, the United States and Japan held combined air drills Wednesday in an effort to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation against North Korean threats, the South's Air Force said.
It marked the first joint air exercise among the three countries since President Lee Jae Myung took office earlier this month, Yonhap news agency reported.
The Air Force said it plans to continue to conduct such trilateral drills on the back of a firm South Korea-US alliance.
Although the B-52s - considered a key US strategic asset - have previously been deployed over the Korean Peninsula for joint air drills with the South Korean Air Force, the first time the bomber landed at an air base in the country, on October 17, 2023.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India.com
2 minutes ago
- India.com
Trump Announces US-Pakistan Oil Deal, Suggests India Sales Amidst New Tariffs, BRICS Criticism
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a new energy pact with Pakistan, saying the United States will assist the South Asian country in developing its "massive" oil reserves. In a remarkable statement, he also hinted that Pakistan could potentially sell oil to India. The news broke through a post on President Trump's social media site, Truth Social, and came shortly after his administration had imposed 25% tariffs on India and an unspecified fine for New Delhi continuing to buy energy from Russia. "We have just made a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, in which Pakistan and the United States will join together to develop their enormous Oil Reserves," wrote President Trump. "We are in the process of selecting the Oil Company which will head this Partnership. Maybe they will be selling Oil to India someday!" US President Donald Trump (@POTUS) posts, "We are very busy in the White House today working on Trade Deals. I have spoken to the Leaders of many Countries, all of whom want to make the United States 'extremely happy.' I will be meeting with the South Korean Trade Delegation this… — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 31, 2025 Busy Day At The White House In the same lengthy post, President Trump outlined a "very busy" day at the White House devoted to trade deals. He stated that he had spoken with leaders from many countries, who all wanted to make the U.S. "extremely happy" by presenting tariffs reductions. "I am going to be seeing the South Korean Trade Delegation this afternoon. South Korea is currently at a 25% Tariff, but they have a bid to purchase down those Tariffs. I will be looking to see what that bid is," Trump tweeted, suggesting additional trade deals with the goal of significantly lowering the U.S. trade deficit. A complete report on these events will be made "at the appropriate time." Negotiations With India Continue Amid BRICS Criticism Hours after stating the new tariffs on India, President Trump said that trade talks with New Delhi are ongoing and clarified that clarity is expected by the "end of this week." He was also severely discontented with India's membership in the BRICS group of 11 emerging economies, calling it "basically a group of countries that are anti-United States. "It's an attack on the dollar, and we are not going to allow anyone to attack the dollar. So it's partly BRICS and partly trade," Trump said when probed by a journalist based on the tariffs. This suggests that India's geopolitical alignments, particularly its energy relationship with Russia and its membership in BRICS, are significant factors influencing the U.S. trade stance.

The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Donald Trump announces U.S. will develop ‘massive' oil reserves in Pakistan, says they might sell to ‘India some day'
Hours after announcing 25% tariffs with additional penalties on India, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) announced a trade deal with Pakistan, touting a joint initiative to develop oil reserves in Pakistan and even floated the idea that "some day" Islamabad might sell oil to New Delhi. In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump stated that the United States and Pakistan are currently in the process of selecting the oil company for the partnership. "We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves. We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll be selling Oil to India some day!" Mr. Trump stated. Mr. Trump, in his post, further stated that he had conversations on trade deals with leaders of many countries, noting "all of whom want to make the United States extremely happy." "We are very busy in the White House today working on Trade Deals. I have spoken to the Leaders of many Countries, all of whom want to make the United States "extremely happy." I will be meeting with the South Korean Trade Delegation this afternoon. South Korea is right now at a 25% Tariff, but they have an offer to buy down those Tariffs. I will be interested in hearing what that offer is," the post read. He also noted that many countries are currently making offers to the U.S. for "Tariff reduction." "Likewise, other Countries are making offers for a Tariff reduction. All of this will help reduce our Trade Deficit in a very major way. A full report will be released at the appropriate time. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" it further read.


India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Trump announces trade deal with South Korea, slashes tariff rate to 15%
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the US will charge a 15 per cent tariff on imports from South Korea as part of a deal that eases, for now, tension with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian arrangement, announced shortly after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House, came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements ahead of a self-imposed August 1 is when Trump has promised higher tariffs will kick in on US imports from a range of countries. Imports from South Korea, a powerhouse exporter of computer chips, cars and steel, faced a 25 per cent rate. "I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea," Trump wrote on Truth negotiations were an early test for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June after a snap election. He said the deal had eliminated uncertainty in the export environment and set US tariffs lower than or at the same level as major competitors."We have crossed a big hurdle," Lee said in a post on Facebook. Trump said Lee would visit the White House "within the next two weeks" for his first meeting with the US said South Korea had agreed to invest USD 350 billion in the United States in projects selected by Trump and to purchase USD 100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products, the U.S. president said. Both steps have been major priorities for Trump, a Republican, in other trade the USD 350 billion investment fund, USD 150 billion was aimed at a shipbuilding partnership while USD 200 billion would include funds for chips, nuclear power, batteries, and biologics, Kim Yong-beom, policy chief from the South Korean presidential office, told a said some existing investment plans by South Korean companies would be part of the fund, and that they had ensured there would be safeguards over how the funds were has not seen the text of the deal or analyzed its was not immediately clear how the investment deals would be structured, where the financing would come from, over what time frame they would be implemented and to what extent their terms would be binding on the parties involved. Trump said additional South Korean investments would be announced also said South Korea would accept American products, including cars, trucks and agriculture into its markets and impose no import duties on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on X that the South Korean energy purchases would take place "over the next 3.5 years."The US tariff rate on South Korean autos would be set at 15% and their semiconductor and pharmaceutical exports would not be treated more harshly than those from other countries, he added. Steel, aluminum, and copper were not covered by the new deal and UStariff rates on those goods would remain claims by Trump and US officials that non-tariff barriers on agriculture would be eliminated, Kim said that South Korea's rice and beef markets would not be Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo had been in Washington for talks with senior US officials and were believed to have met with Trump shortly before the deal had been mounting on South Korea since Japan clinched a deal to cut Trump's threatened tariffs to 15 per cent earlier this the last-minute push by government officials to reach a tariff deal, South Korea's Samsung Electronics inked a USD 16.5 billion chip deal with Tesla Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution also signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with energy storage system batteries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.- EndsTune InMust Watch