F-35A stealth jets from the United States Air Force landed in South Korea on Tuesday, their first publicly disclosed visit since 2017, as the allies and nuclear-armed North Korea engage in an intensifying cycle of weapon shows.
Joint military exercises have been openly reduced back in recent years, first in 2018 due to diplomatic attempts with North Korea, and then in 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Conducts Joint Maneuvers With South Korea
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has wanted to enhance public shows of alliance military force, including drills, in response to North Korea's record number of missile launches this year.
North Korea looks to be planning a nuclear test for the first time since 2017. The six F-35As will be in South Korea for 10 days, according to a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Defense. The aircraft took out from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.
A USFK spokesperson stated that it was the first public deployment of 5th generation fighter aircraft to South Korea since December 2017, but he did not clarify whether unannounced trips had occurred.
A former senior US official earlier told Reuters that several drills had proceeded amid diplomatic negotiations but had not been reported. South Korea has acquired 40 F-35As from the United States and plans to purchase another 20.
South Korean air force F-35As will take part in the combined exercises, according to USFK. North Korea has criticized joint drills as well as South Korea's military procurement as examples of hostile measures that demonstrate the US's pledges to dialogue without preconditions are empty, as per Daily Mail.
In early June, the United States and its allies launched dozens of planes over the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang's provocations. President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea welcomed President Biden to Seoul in mid-May, during which the two stated a desire to expand coordinated military drills around the Korean Peninsula.
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North Korea Recently Slammed US, South Korea
Furthermore, the US restated its readiness to deploy key US military assets as needed in a timely and coordinated way, as well as to strengthen such measures and find new or additional methods to bolster deterrence in the face of DPRK disruptive activities, The Hill reported.
North Korea lambasted the US, South Korea, and Japan on Sunday for attempting to expand their trilateral military cooperation against the North, saying that the move is generating urgent calls for the nation to strengthen its military power.
North Korea has long claimed hostility from the United States and its allies as justification for pursuing a nuclear program. The announcement comes as North Korea's neighbors claim the nation is preparing for its first nuclear test in five years as part of a provocative series of weapons tests this year.
The statement criticized a trilateral meeting between US, South Korean, and Japanese leaders on the margins of a NATO summit last week, during which they emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation to cope with North Korean nuclear threats.
North Korea sees US-led military drills in the region, notably those with rival South Korea, as a dress rehearsal for an invasion, despite Washington and Seoul's repeated denials that they want to invade the North, according to AP via MSN.
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