US conducts drills with Japan, S. Korea after N. Korea  ICBM launch

July 30, 2017

SEOUL- Two B-1B strategic bombers of the US Air Force on Sunday conducted joint drills separately with fighters of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force and the South Korean Air Force, US military and other sources said.   The drills were apparently intended to check North Korea, which fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday, the second ICBM launch by the reclusive state following the first one on July 4. In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister and Defense Minister Fumio Kishida said the ASDF carried out a joint drill with the US Air Force in airspace above the sea west of the Kyushu southwestern Japan region and around the Korean Peninsula Kishida underscored that the drill was aimed at "further strengthening the deterrent power and coping abilities of the entire Japan-US alliance and showing Japan's will and advanced capabilities for stabilizing the regional situation" under the current tough security environment including North Korea's missile launches. According to the US Pacific Air Forces, the two B-1B bombers took off from the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam for their 10-hour mission. The bombers first flew to Japanese airspace, where they were joined by two F-2 fighters of the ASDF. The B-1Bs then flew over the Korean Peninsula and were joined by four F-15 fighters of the South Korean Air Force, it said. Throughout the mission, "the aircrew practiced intercept and formation training, enabling them to improve their combined capabilities and tactical skills," it said. The mission was "in direct response to North Korea's escalatory launch" of the ICBMs and part of "the continuing demonstration of ironclad US commitment to our allies," the Pacific Air Forces stressed. "North Korea remains the most urgent threat to regional stability," Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, commander of the Pacific Air Forces, said. He said: "Diplomacy remains the lead; however, we have a responsibility to our allies and our nation to showcase our unwavering commitment while planning for the worst-case scenario. If called upon, we are ready to respond with rapid, lethal, and overwhelming force at a time and place of our choosing." (Jiji Press)