US, Japan and South Korea hold first air force drills near Korean peninsula

Mỹ, Nhật Bản và Hàn Quốc lần đầu tập trận không quân gần bán đảo Triều Tiên - Ảnh 1. — US B-52H strategic bombers and South Korean F-35A fighters over the Korean peninsula on October 17.

Yonhap news agency reported on October 22 that South Korea, the United States and Japan participated in joint air force exercises near the Korean Peninsula for the first time, in a three-way effort to cooperate on security to deal with threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

According to the South Korean Air Force, the trilateral exercise took place in the south of the peninsula and involved US B-52H strategic bombers, as well as fighter jets from the three sides.

Although the US Air Force has conducted separate bilateral exercises with its South Korean and Japanese counterparts around the peninsula, this is the first time the three countries have held joint air exercises in the region.

"This exercise is designed to comply with defense agreements discussed at the Camp David summit in August and expand the three countries' response capabilities to North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats," according to a statement from the South Korean Air Force.

The statement said the exercise demonstrated solidarity among the three countries, noting that the three sides planned to further strengthen cooperation, based on the "solid" relationship of the South Korea-US alliance.

The latest drills come after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to strengthen security cooperation and hold annual, multi-regional trilateral exercises.

Also this month, the three countries held joint maritime exercises in waters south of the Korean Peninsula for the first time in seven years.

North Korea views all such drills as rehearsals for an invasion and has repeatedly warned of “overwhelming” action in response, according to The Japan Times .

Pyongyang opposes Washington's deployment of long-range military assets and in 2017 threatened to "shoot down" US strategic bombers even outside North Korean airspace.

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