The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland, South Korea’s military said.
The U.S. flew the B-1B bomber to train with South Korean and Japanese fighter jets near the Korean Peninsula, demonstrating the three countries’ firm resolve and readiness to respond to North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The trilateral aerial training was the second by South Korea, the U.S., and Japan this year, the statement said.
The U.S. has flown the B-1B bomber over or near the Korean Peninsula four times this year, according to South Korea’s military. A B-1B is capable of carrying a large conventional weapons payload.
Thursday’s Hwasong-19 test, North Korea’s first ICBM test firing in almost a year, showed progress in North Korea’s missile program.
The ICBM test was seen as an effort to grab American attention ahead of the U.S. presidential election this week and respond to international condemnation of North Korea’s reported dispatch of thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, observers say.
