Seoul, South Korea ( Associated Press) — North Korea stepped up its recent weapons-testing deployment on Saturday by launching four ballistic missiles into the sea, while the United States sent two supersonic bombers over South Korea in a show of military prowess. , which reveal an increasing increase in tension in the region.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, four short-range missiles were fired from an area off North Korea’s west coast around noon and covered a distance of about 130 kilometers (80 mi) before landing in waters west of the country. Of.
The North Korean military has launched more than 30 missiles into the sea this week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, which on Thursday warned of an evacuation in northern Japan, and inside its territory in an angry reaction to the aerial maneuver. Fly with warplanes. United States and its neighbors to the south.
According to the South Korean military, two B-1B bombers trained alongside four US F-16 fighter jets and four South Korean F-35 fighter jets on the final day of a joint military exercise dubbed “Storm Vigilant”, which took place on Saturday. ends to. This is the first time since December 2017 that bombers have been deployed on the peninsula. Around 240 aircraft participated in the exercise, which included advanced F-35 fighter aircraft from both the countries.
For its part, the North Korean foreign ministry said Friday night that its action was an appropriate response to the exercise, which it called a display of the US “frenzy of military confrontation”. He said Pyongyang would respond with the “strongest response” to any attempt by “hostile forces” to violate its sovereignty or security interests.
According to the South Korean General Staff, the B-1B’s participation in the maneuver indicates the Allies’ willingness to offer a “firm response” to North Korean provocations and Washington’s commitment to defending its ally with all its military might. , which includes atoms.
B-1B flights have been a regular display of force in past periods of tension with the North. The planes last took off in the region’s skies in 2017 during another phase of intensive weapons testing, but were halted in recent years to support the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts with Pyongyang and the COVID pandemic. Is. -19.
After North Korea conducted weapons tests at a record pace, the allies resumed large-scale exercises this year to accelerate their development, taking advantage of divisions in the UN Security Council over Russia’s war in Ukraine .
Pyongyang hates US military demonstrations that could take place so close to its border. The answer describes the B-1B as a “strategic nuclear bomber”, although the aircraft has carried only conventional warheads since the mid-1990s.
Storm watch exercises were due to end on Friday, but after North Korea’s launch on Thursday, the allies decided to extend them until Saturday.
