SEOUL: A US B-1B strategic bomber was on Saturday redeployed to the Korean peninsula for a joint air drill with South Korea, according to Seoul’s military.
The development comes on the heels of Pyongyang launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. The statement by the South Korean military said that South Korea and the United States air forces conducted a joint air drill on Saturday with the US Air Force B-1B strategic bomber redeployed on the Korean peninsula. F-35 stealth fighter, one of the most sophisticated jets the two countries; US and South Korean air forces have, also joined the drill, said the statement further.
North Korea is particularly wary about the US-South Korean joint air drills, according to the experts, as its air force lacks high-tech jets and trained pilots. The US Air Force has tagged the B-1B as the backbone of the US long-range bomber force. It can strike anywhere in the world though the B-1B no longer carries nuclear weapons.
After the North Korean president, Kim declared the country an “irreversible” nuclear state in September, Washington has intensified regional security cooperation, including the largest-ever joint air exercises with South Korea in November called “Vigilant Storm”. — AFP/APP
