Seoul: South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted combined air drills involving at least one B-1B bomber south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday. This was a display of force following North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the trilateral drills occurred over waters east of South Korea’s southern island of Jeju. The exercises followed heightened tensions after North Korea launched the new Hwasong-19 ICBM into the East Sea on Thursday, marking its first long-range ballistic missile launch this year.

During the drills, fighter jets from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan escorted the U.S. heavy bomber over waters where the air defense identification zones of South Korea and Japan overlap, as stated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The exercise included the heavy bomber striking a simulated target to demonstrate its capabilities. The JCS did not specify the number of B-1Bs involved in the exercise.

“This exercise took place in response
to North Korea’s launch of an ICBM on Oct. 31,” the JCS stated in a release. The statement emphasized the gradually increasing security cooperation between the three countries and their commitment to strengthening coordination to deter and respond to North Korea’s threats collectively.

The JCS noted that this marked the second air exercise between the three nations this year, as part of joint efforts to bolster trilateral security cooperation against North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.