According to Yonhap news agency, 4 F-35B fighters were sent to the Korean peninsula from the US base in Japan and the B-1B strategic bombs were sent from the island of Guam. The Korean F-15K fighter squadron consists of 4 aircraft participating in a joint exercise with the US ally.
US-South Korean fighter jets have held bombing drills at pilseung Sports Complex, Gangwon Province in eastern South Korea. During this exercise, the two countries' armies used MK-84, MK-82 and GBU-32 bombs.
A military source said that a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft also participated in this exercise.
"Our air force is capable of conducting perfect coordination activities. Regardless of when, where and how the enemy provokes, we will take appropriate retaliatory action," Lieutenant General Won In-chul, commander of the Korean Air Force Campaign Command, said.
The drill with the participation of 6 US fighter jets took place 2 days after Pyongyang launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over northern Japan.
The fighter jets' August 31 mission is a direct US response to North Korea's latest missile launch, US defense officials told Yonhap.
The US military's stealth bombers and fighters arrived on the Korean peninsula just hours after the end of the 11-day "Ulychi Free Guard" (UFG) exercise by the US and South Korean troops. In this year's " Ulchi Free Guard" exercise, the US reduced the number of participating soldiers to 17,500 people compared to 25,000 in 2016.
