The South Korean, US, and Japanese militaries conducted their first-ever trilateral aerial exercise to deter a potential North Korean nuclear threat (and simulate a response to it).

In accordance with the South Korean Air Force (Republic of Korea Air Force, ROKAF) statement, the training activities have been conducted to solidify the 3 countries’ previous agreement and to enhance the combined defense response against North Korean threats. The exercise involved USAF nuclear-capable B-52 STRATOFORTESS bomber, F-16 FALCON, and fighter jets from South Korea (F-15K SLAM EAGLE) and Japan (F-2 VIPER ZERO). According to the ROKAF, the drill took place in the southern part of the peninsula, where South Korea and Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zones overlap.

The 3 countries have already held trilateral maritime drills, such as anti-submarine or missile defense exercises in the past, but this marked the first time for them to perform a trilateral aerial drill. Due to the brutal actions conducted by the Japanese Imperial troops in the peninsula pre- and during World War II, in South Korea there has been some resentment on conducting military drills with Japan. However, the evolving and accelerated North Korean nuclear program has pushed South Korea’s conservative President, Yoon Suk Yeol, to overcome some of these historical prejudices and enhance the trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan, including the air domain, as sealed during the meeting between the 3 countries’ highest personalities at Camp David in last August. The capstone of the new security cooperation and the new exercise has been real-time missile warning data on North Korea and the development of combined drills to rapidly respond to any threats.

North leader, Kim Jong Un, already tagged the Camp David meeting as a plotting nuclear provocation and it is likely that the new exercise could provoke a more furious reaction, especially after last year, where the “leader maximus” enacted a law that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons. South Korea and Japan are both key US allies in Asia, which together host more than 80,000 soldiers, aviators, and sailors. In accordance with Pacific Air Forces Command, the B-52 STRATOFORTESS, also known as BUFF, participating in the exercise came from the 2nd Bomb Wing based at Barksdale Air Force Base, in Louisiana, and have subsequently flown to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of the Pacific Bomber Task Force rotation.