South Korea, US stage air drills with B-52H bomber after North Korea's ICBM launch

Seoul: Hours after North Korea test-fired ‘Hwasong-18’, a new solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile in a bid to promote the country’s nuclear counterattack capability, South Korea and the United States held joint air drills, involving at least one B-52H strategic bomber, on Friday.

Seoul’s defence ministry said that the South Korean Air Force mobilized its F-35A radar-evading fighters and F-15K jets for the drills, while the U.S. side deployed F-16 fighters in addition to the bomber. However, it did not specify in which part of the Korean Peninsula the drills took place.

“It is assessed that (the drills) represented a close-knit, coordinated response demonstrating the powerful ‘strength of the alliance’ and the United States’ will to provide extended deterrence against the recent series of North Korean provocations,” the ministry was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying in a press release.

North Korea claimed the drills simulated an all-out war against North Korea and communicated threats against it. The United States and South Korea have said their exercises are defensive in nature and expanding them was necessary to cope with the North’s evolving threats.

The exercise was aimed at sharpening combined operational abilities and demonstrating the credibility of the U.S. commitment to leverage its full military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend South Korea, according to Seoul’s Defence Ministry.

KCNA said the launch was supervised on-site by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who described the missile — named Hwasong-18 — as the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces that would enhance counterattack abilities in the face of external threats created by the military activities of the United States and its regional allies.

North Korea has justified its weapons demonstrations as a response to the expanding military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which the North condemns as invasion rehearsals while using them as a pretext to push further its own weapons development.

North Korea has tested various ICBMs since 2017 that demonstrated the potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, but its three previous systems use liquid fuel that must be added relatively close to the launch and they cannot remain fueled for prolonged periods.

An ICBM with built-in solid propellants would be easier to move and hide and fired quickly, reducing the opportunities for opponents to detect and counter the launch.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry in a statement described the Hwasong-18’s flight as a “mid-phase test” and said North Korea would need more time and effort to complete the system. It has maintained that the North hasn’t yet acquired the technology to ensure the survival of ICBM warheads.

Last month, South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-Sup also told lawmakers that North Korea likely hasn’t yet acquired the technology to place nuclear warheads on its newer short-range missiles targeting South Korea, though he acknowledged the country was making considerable progress on it.

The North has fired around 30 missiles this year alone over 12 different launch events as both the pace of its weapons development and the U.S.-South Korean military exercises increase in a cycle of tit-for-tat.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted their biggest field exercises in years last month and separately held joint naval and air force drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group and nuclear-capable U.S. bombers.

With inputs from agencies.

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