Japan, U.S. and South Korea conduct joint aerial drill
Japan, the United States and South Korea conducted a joint aerial exercise in the airspace south of South Korea's Jeju island Wednesday, according to the South Korean Air Force.
It was the first three-way joint training since the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung was inaugurated on June 4.
According to the South Korean Air Force, the drill was conducted with the aim of strengthening trilateral security cooperation to deter North Korea's increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile threats.
F-2 fighters of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force, F-16 fighters of the U.S. Air Force and F-15K fighters of the South Korean Air Force took part in the drill.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that, while previous joint drills included U.S. aircraft carriers and strategic bombers, the latest one comprised only fighter jets. Lee, who is seeking to deescalate tensions with his northern neighbor, may have opted to avoid using weaponry viewed as threats by the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Lee administration has indicated that it will maintain security cooperation with Japan and the United States, which was expanded under Lee's predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol. The South Korean president and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the close cooperation among the three countries in a meeting Tuesday in Canada.
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