US holds drills with Asian allies after North Korea’s ICBM launch

Joint air workout routines carried out after Pyongyang launches long-range ballistic missile into the ocean off Japan.

The US has held air workout routines with South Korea and Japan involving strategic bombers, a day after North Korea fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Employees stated the workout routines on Sunday demonstrated the allies’ “overwhelming” defence capabilities and readiness.

“[The exercises] strengthened the mixed operation functionality and affirmed the US’ ironclad dedication to the defence of the Korean Peninsula and the implementation of prolonged deterrence,” South Korea’s army stated in an announcement.

Japan flew F-15 fighter jets over the Sea of Japan with US B-1 bombers and F-16 fighters, Japan’s defence ministry stated in an announcement. It known as the safety atmosphere “more and more extreme” after the newest North Korean missile landed inside its Unique Financial Zone.

The long-range ballistic missile landed within the sea off Japan’s west coast after North Korea warned of a robust response to the deliberate army drills by South Korea and the US.

State information company KCNA stated North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-15 from Pyongyang airport on Saturday in what it known as a “shock ICBM launching drill”.

KCNA stated the missile flew 989km (615 miles) and travelled for simply over an hour “earlier than precisely hitting the pre-set space in open waters of the East Sea of Korea” – utilizing the North Korean title for the Sea of Japan.

UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any vary, which – relying on their design – can be geared up with a nuclear warhead.

It will be the primary take a look at of such a missile in additional than a month.

The take a look at was condemned “within the strongest phrases” by the Group of Seven, the group of the main seven world economies.

An announcement launched after a gathering of G7 international ministers on the Munich Safety Convention known as the assault a “blatant violation” of UN Safety Council resolutions.