South Korea, Japan and US conduct aerial drill as defense chiefs meet

U.S. and South Korean aircraft conduct a joint drill over the Korean Peninsula, in this file photo from October 2023. Yonhap

SEOUL, July 11 (AJP) - South Korea conducted a large-scale joint aerial drill with Japan and the United States, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.

In a show of readiness against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the exercise was held over waters off the southern resort island of Jeju, involving a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber as well as South Korea's KF-16 and Japan's F-2 fighter jets, according to the ministry.

"Through close cooperation, the three countries will continue conducting joint training to deter and respond to threats from North Korea," the ministry said in a press release.

Friday's exercise, which came less than a month after a similar drill, coincided with an annual meeting where the top military officers of the three countries gathered in Seoul to discuss ways to strengthen trilateral security cooperation.

Earlier in the day, South Korea's Adm. Kim Myung-soo met with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Gen. Dan Caine and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, at the Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-CHOD) meeting, which rotates among the three countries and was held in Seoul this year following the previous gathering in Tokyo last July.

In the meeting, Kim emphasized the importance of strong trilateral cooperation in the face of "North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats," which pose significant security challenges on the Korean Peninsula.

Expressing his agreement, Caine said, "Our focus in the United States remains on reestablishing deterrence, and doing so needs and requires the trilateral cooperation between our three countries." He then added, "[North Korea] and China are undergoing an unprecedented military buildup with a clear and unambiguous intent to move forward with their own agendas. We need to be mindful of that."

Recalling the inaugural Tri-CHOD meeting in Hawaii in July 2014, when the primary agenda was solely focused on North Korean threats, Caine also said that trilateral cooperation should now "address broader regional issues," suggesting China's growing influence in the region.

Kim Hee-su khs@ajunews.com