Original title: South Korea and the United States launched a strategic bomber in a joint air military exercise North Korea: will respond super tough
[文/观察者网 王世纯]According to reports from Yonhap News Agency and Korean Central News Agency on February 2, South Korea and the United States held a joint air military exercise after the bilateral defense ministers meeting. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense announced on the 2nd that the South Korean and US Air Forces jointly implemented the first joint air exercise in 2023 on the 1st and invested in “US strategic weapons.”
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense stated that the exercise was held over the western waters of the Korean Peninsula, and the South Korean Air Force’s F-35A fighter jets, the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B strategic bomber, F-22 and F-35B fighter jets participated. The focus this time is to improve the joint combat execution capability and interoperability of the ROK-US Air Force.
North Korea protested this exercise. The North Korean Foreign Ministry stated on the 2nd that it will respond to all military plots of the United States in a super tough manner in accordance with the principle of “returning nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons and countering frontal confrontation with frontal confrontation”.
On February 1, the Korean and US Air Forces held a joint exercise over the western waters of the Korean Peninsula. South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jets, U.S. Air Force B-1B strategic bombers, F-22 and F-35B fighter jets participated in the exercise.Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense of South Korea
The Ministry of National Defense of South Korea stated that this joint air exercise demonstrates the will and capability of the United States to “strongly respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats” and provide South Korea with a strong and reliable extended deterrence. Just like the agreement reached by the leaders of South Korea and the United States at the 54th South Korea-US Security Meeting (SCM), this joint exercise reflects the commitment of the United States to dispatch US strategic weapons to South Korea in a timely and coordinated manner. The “Action Alliance” is firmly determined to protect the security of the country and its citizens from any provocations and threats from North Korea.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense stated that South Korea and the United States will continue to improve the level of joint exercises with the United States’ strategic weapons, and improve the South Korean people’s trust in the United States’ extended deterrence commitment, so as to have the strength and posture to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
Prior to this, the defense ministers of South Korea and the United States held a meeting in Seoul on the 31st of last month to discuss plans to strengthen the implementation capabilities of extended deterrence. U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin promised to deploy strategic weapons such as “F-35 and nuclear-powered aircraft carrier” in South Korea.
For this exercise, North Korea expressed its resolute resistance and will make a “ultra-tough response.”
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published by KCNA on the same day. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that when the US Secretary of Defense visited South Korea on January 31, he loudly publicized the use of nuclear weapons against the DPRK and publicly claimed to deploy more strategic assets such as fifth-generation stealth fighter jets and nuclear aircraft carriers. This is a concentrated expression of the extremely dangerous intention of the United States . It will only bring about the transformation of the Korean peninsula region into a huge war powder arsenal and the peninsula region into a precarious war zone.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has a clear response strategy to the short-term and long-term conspiracies of the United States and various client countries, and will use its overwhelming nuclear force to strongly manage current and future potential challenges. If the U.S. continues to forcibly squeeze its strategic weapons into the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding areas, we will carry out tight-fisted containment activities more directly according to its nature.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not interested in any contact and dialogue with the United States as long as the United States pursues a hostile policy and a confrontational line.