SEOUL: The South Korean, American and Japanese militaries conducted their first-ever trilateral aerial exercise on Sunday in response to evolving North Korean nuclear threats, Seoul's air force said.
The exercise, held near the Korean Peninsula, was to implement the three countries' earlier agreement to increase defense cooperation and boost their joint response capabilities against such threats, the air force said in a statement.A United States Air Force B-52 bomber is parked at an air base in the city of Cheongju, South Korea on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.
The drill involved a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber from the United States and fighter jets from South Korea and Japan, it added.South Korea and Japan are both key US allies in Asia, which collectively host about 80,000 American troops.The three countries have occasionally held trilateral maritime drills, such as anti-submarine or missile defense exercises, but Sunday's training marked the first time for them to perform a trilateral aerial drill.