South Korea and the United States sent military aircraft, including stealth fighters, over waters off the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday after recent missile launches by North Korea, according to Seoul.
• Read also: Seoul and Washington launch ballistic missiles in response to North Korean test
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Sixteen South Korean warplanes, including F-35 stealth fighters and four American F-16 jets, have formed an attack squadron over the western Yellow Sea in “response to the threat enemy,” the Seoul Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The allies have “demonstrated their strong ability and willingness to strike quickly and accurately against any provocation from North Korea,” he added.
These aerial maneuvers, which involved around twenty military aircraft, come the day after the firing of eight ballistic missiles by these two countries on targets located in the East Sea, also called the Sea of Japan.
The ten-minute salvo came after Pyongyang launched eight short-range ballistic missiles from four different locations in the space of 30 minutes on Sunday. According to analysts, these tests are among the most important in its history.
Pyongyang has stepped up efforts this year to improve its weapons program, despite harsh economic sanctions. Officials and analysts have warned that Kim Jong Un’s regime is preparing to conduct another nuclear test.
US State Department number two Wendy Sherman, who is on a three-day visit to Seoul, has warned that a Pyongyang nuclear test would prompt a “swift and forceful” response.
“Any nuclear test would be a complete violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions,” she told reporters after meeting her South Korean counterpart.
The whole world will respond “strongly and clearly,” she said.
“We are ready”, she added, recalling that the United States remained ready to resume discussions with the North, and specifying that Washington “has no hostile intentions towards” Pyongyang.
Tuesday’s aerial maneuvers are the allies’ third joint show of force under new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to toughen his stance on Pyongyang.