South Korea holds air drills with Japan and US in first such collaboration
South Korea
South Korea held a joint aerial exercise with Japan and the United States on Sunday (October 22) said South Korean military. The air drill has marked first such collaboration between the three countries. The drill was aimed at expanding the countries' response capabilities against threat posed by North Korea, said South Korean air force in a statement.
The drill involved a US B-52 bomber along with fighter jets of the three countries.
The US bomber landed at South Korean airbase on Tuesday following a flyover at country's largest defence exhibition. B-52 bombers fly at sub-sonic speed but can travel more than 8800 miles without any need of refuelling. The bomber can reach an altitude of 50,000 feet.
The South Korean Air Force said that the trilateral exercise took place south of the Korean peninsula where South Korea and Japan's Air Defence Identification Zones overlap.
North Korea considers all such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion against it and repeatedly warns of "overwhelming" action in response.
Watch | South Korea's military technology on display, KF-21 Boramae fighter jet makes its debut.
North Korea baulks at Washington's deployment of long-range military assets and in 2017 threatened to "shoot down" US strategic bombers even outside North Korean airspace.
The B-52 bomber's arrival came on the heels of a port call by USA's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. This elicited angry reactions from Pyongyang.
The bomber also landed ahead of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's two-day visit to Pyongyang, as the UN-sanctioned neighbours and historic allies tighten ties.
Leaders of Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed to carry out annual, multi-domain, trilateral exercises earlier this year. At the Camp David summit in August, the three countries also agreed to set up a hotline for crisis communication.
The aerial drills are the latest effort by the US and its allies in Asia to firm up ties in the face of tensions with North Korea and rising Chinese influence in the region.
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Sunday also saw a joint anti-submarine exercise called Silent Shark, said South Korean navy.
It is believed that Russia is interested in buying North Korean ammunition. North Korea wants Russia help to develop its missile programme which often draws flak from the West, particularly the US.
(With inputs from agencies)
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