PRESS RELEASE

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U.S.-South Korean Militaries Engage in Show of Force

Sept. 18, 2017 (EIRNS)—The U.S. and South Korean militaries engaged in a show of force today, that included the dropping of both inert and live weapons on a South Korean bombing range and a flight along the Demilitarized Zone. According to a report in the Korea Herald, a pair of B-1B bombers flying from Guam and four U.S. Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighters were joined by four South Korean F-15K fighters for the exercise for the two-and-a-half hour drill "where they honed their attack capabilities." After they released their weapons, they made the "highly unusual" move of approaching the tense inter-Korean border, reported Yonhap. Prior to arriving over Korea, the U.S. aircraft had drilled with F-2 fighters from the Japanese Air Self Defense Force over waters near Kyushu, reported the Japan Times.

There will be more such exercises to come. The South Korean Defense Ministry reported to the National Assembly, today, that the United States and South Korea will hold an exercise in October involving "the U.S. aircraft carrier strike group," though it didn’t name the carrier involved. The ministry also reported that South Korea and the United States will also conduct a combined missile alert drill joined by Japan between late September and early October.