US B-1B bomber redeployed to Korean peninsula for joint air drill
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Two US Air Force B-1B bomber planes escorted by a squadron of F-16 and F-35 fighter jets in an undated photo.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SEOUL – A US B-1B strategic bomber was redeployed on the Korean peninsula on Saturday for a joint US-South Korea air drill, a day after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Seoul’s military said.
“South Korea and the US conducted a joint air drill today with the US Air Force’s B-1B strategic bomber redeployed on the Korean peninsula,” the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
Some of the most advanced jets in the US and South Korean air forces, including the F-35 stealth fighter, also joined the drill, it said.
North Korea is particularly sensitive about US-South Korean joint air drills, experts say, as its air force is one of the weakest links in its military, lacking high-tech jets and properly trained pilots.
While the B-1B no longer carries nuclear weapons, it is described by the US Air Force as “the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force” that can strike anywhere in the world.
Since Mr Kim declared North Korea an “irreversible” nuclear state in September, Washington has ramped up regional security cooperation, including its largest-ever joint air exercises with South Korea this month called “Vigilant Storm”.
North Korea fired a suspected ICBM on Friday
The launch came a day after a smaller missile launch by the North.
This has become a record-breaking year for Pyongyang’s missile programme,
North Korea’s last suspected ICBM test was on Nov 3, when it fired multiple missiles into the sea in what it said was a protest against allied military drills by South Korea and the US.
Friday’s launch would be the eighth ICBM test in 2022 by North Korea, based on a tally from the US State Department. AFP
