US Air Force B-1 bombers carried out mock missile launches off both coasts of South Korea Tuesday night in the latest show of force against North Korea, South Korean military officials said.
The exercise showed the “strong ability of the alliance against the North Korean nuclear missile threat,” the South Korean air force said.
The US military statement said the exercise “demonstrates how U. S. military forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific are always ready to defend the American homeland and how the U. S. stands resolutely with Japan and the ROK to honor their unshakeable alliance commitments.”
US B-1 bombers flying from Guam have been seen regularly over the Korean Peninsula amid escalating tensions with Pyongyang — running regular training flights with Japanese and South Korean fighter jets that often provoke the ire of the North Korean regime.
North Korea has been conducting regular missile tests in recent months as well as testing a nuclear warhead in September, all part of its bid to establish a nuclear deterrent to what it sees as a military threat from the US.
China, North Korea’s closest ally, has suggested that Pyongyang freeze its nuclear missile development while the US stop conducting military exercises with the South that raise fears in North Korea.
But neither side is budging in the standoff.
