Status: 05.11.2022 11:30 a.m
In response to numerous missile launches by North Korea, the southern neighbor is asking the US for more “strategic means”. They send the B-1B bomber into the joint military maneuvers – after which Pyongyang again tests short-range missiles.
According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, in response to numerous missile launches by North Korea, a US Air Force strategic bomber will take part in the joint military exercises between the two countries. The B-1B fighter jet should take part in the afternoon exercise, a ministry official told the AFP news agency. No further details were given.
First deployment of the B-1B since 2017
South Korea had previously asked the United States to increase its use of “strategic assets,” which include aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and long-range bombers like the B-1B. The United States agreed to this, said South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong Sup after talks with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington.
This is the first use of B-1B bombers in US-South Korean exercises since 2017, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. Since the end of October, the US has stationed four of the planes in Guam.
The United States and South Korea are currently holding a joint military maneuver dubbed “Vigilant Storm.” The exercises, originally planned to last until Friday, were initially extended until today in response to the North Korean tests.
Pyongyang responded with short-range missiles
North Korea has been heating up tensions in the region for days with several rocket launches to protest the maneuver and the deployment of the B-1B fighter jets. Four North Korean short-range ballistic missiles have now been launched west, the military said in Seoul. They flew about 130 kilometers and reached an altitude of 20 kilometers.
North Korea has launched a slew of missiles this week alone. Among them was apparently an ICBM. According to South Korean information, it probably crashed in mid-flight. According to military experts, this indicates a failed test. ICBMs have a range of thousands of kilometers and can be armed with nuclear warheads. According to information from Seoul and Washington, several North Korean tests of such missiles have failed this year.
On the night of Friday, Pyongyang fired artillery barrages at the “maritime buffer zone” in the sea area between North and South Korea. According to the South Korean military, 180 North Korean warplanes were detected in the airspace of the North Korean capital Pyongyang on Friday, after which South Korea had put 80 fighter jets on standby.
The US is demanding implementation of the sanctions
The USA also called on the international community to fully implement the sanctions against North Korea. Washington and Seoul have been warning for months that North Korea could conduct a nuclear weapons test in the near future. It would be the first such test since 2017. North Korea has carried out six nuclear weapons tests since 2006.