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Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korea warns of ‘overwhelming deterrence' after U.S.-South Korea air drills
SEOUL, April 17 (UPI) -- North Korea warned Thursday it would respond with "overwhelming deterrence" against the United States following Washington's deployment of B-1B strategic bombers to the Korean Peninsula for a joint air exercise with South Korea this week. The allies' drills represent an "open threat to the security of our state and a grave provocation that raises the military tension in the region to an extreme dangerous level," a spokesperson for North Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by state-run Korean Central News Agency. "The DPRK will exercise the overwhelming deterrence and continue to make the U.S. recognize that its unannounced deployment of strategic means is a reckless and unnecessary abuse of strength," the spokesperson said, using the official acronym for North Korea. "The higher the level of provocation against the DPRK is, the greater the level of danger returning to the U.S. will be." The United States sent a pair of B-1B strategic bombers to participate in joint drills on Tuesday, which was a holiday in North Korea marking the birthday of founder Kim Il Sung. The exercise was intended to "respond to the continuous threat of North Korea's increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile programs," Seoul's Defense Ministry said. Pyongyang has frequently objected to the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula and condemns the allies' joint military exercises as rehearsals for an invasion. The ministry spokesperson said Thursday that the latest exercise was a "process of increasing the skillfulness in tactics and procedures for attacking the DPRK, and completing preparations for going into real action at any time." North Korea "will never tolerate the slightest sign of threat of the hostile forces against the security sovereignty of the state," the spokesperson added. The drills marked the second deployment of U.S. B-1B bombers to the peninsula since President Donald Trump returned to office. Days after a February joint air exercise, Pyongyang test-fired strategic cruise missiles in what it called a demonstration of its nuclear deterrence capabilities. North Korea's statement came as the United States and South Korea kicked off a two-week joint air exercise, called Freedom Flag, on Thursday. The exercise, which runs until May 2, involves some 1,100 troops and 90 aircraft from both militaries, South Korea's air force said in a press release. Assets mobilized for the drills include South Korean F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets and American F-16 and F-35 B fighters. The allies "plan to strengthen interoperability and cultivate capabilities for wartime joint mission execution," the release said. "In addition, they will intensively review and master the latest tactical and operational procedures that reflect the changes in the operational environment of modern warfare."
Korea Herald
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, US launch joint Freedom Flag air drills
South Korea and the United States kicked off a joint large-scale air exercise Thursday, the South's Air Force said, in efforts to bolster their interoperability and combined readiness posture against North Korean threats. Some 1,100 troops and 90 aircraft from both sides were mobilized for the semiannual Freedom Flag exercise, which runs through May 2, according to the Air Force. Among the assets mobilized for the two-week drills were the South's F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, as well as the US F-16 and F-35 B fighters and MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones. Over the next two weeks, troops will take part in key air operations training programs, such as air interdiction, defensive counter air, combat search and rescue and close air support exercises. For the first time, stealth fighter jets, such as the F-35, will take on the role of "red air" enemy forces to help enhance pilots' practical combat capabilities, the Air Force said. Freedom Flag was launched last year to replace regular large-scale air exercises between the allies -- Korea Flying Training in the first half of the year and Vigilant Defense in the second half. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
First US strategic asset deployed to Korea under Trump 2.0
South Korea and the US conducted a combined aerial exercise on Thursday with a US B-1B strategic bomber, marking the first deployment of a US strategic asset to the Korean Peninsula since the launch of the second Trump administration. The B-1B bomber was escorted by the South Korean Air Force's F-35A and F-15K fighter jets and US F-16 fighter jets over South Korean airspace, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry. The ministry explained that the exercise aimed to demonstrate US extended deterrence capabilities against North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats while enhancing interoperability between South Korean and US forces. Details on the planning timeline -- particularly the decision to include the B-1B bomber -- were not disclosed. A ministry official noted that the exercise aligns with South Korea's ongoing discussions with the US in recent years to include US strategic assets in combined exercises, a practice that continued under the previous Biden administration. The B-1B, also known as the Lancer, is one of the US military's three strategic bombers, alongside the B-52H and B-2. It is the only supersonic bomber among them and is expected to play a key role in preemptive strikes on critical targets if signs of a North Korean attack are detected. Although it does not carry nuclear weapons, the B-1B is capable of carrying nearly 60 metric tons of bombs. Its high speed allows it to reach the Korean Peninsula from a US base in Guam in just two hours. On Jan. 15, South Korea, the US, and Japan conducted a trilateral aerial drill over international waters near the Korean Peninsula, with a US B-1B strategic bomber also participating, in response to North Korea's continued provocations ahead of Trump's expected inauguration.
