US bombers conduct drill in S Korea over Pyongyang threat

Bloomberg

Two US strategic bombers led a joint military exercise in South Korea on Saturday in response to this week’s launch by North Korea of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking Alaska.
The B-1B Lancers, deployed from the US base in Guam, conducted an air-to-surface firing drill in Gangwon province, near the border with North Korea, the US Air Force said in a statement. They were joined by South Korean F-15 and US F-16 fighter jets. The mission was in response to the “increasingly escalatory actions” by North Korea including the firing of an ICBM, the Pacific Air Forces said.
North Korea’s first confirmed test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile is becoming a key test of President Donald Trump’s vow to stop Pyongyang’s weapons programs. US officials said this week the weapon could be capable of flying as far as 5,500 kilometers, enough to put Alaska within the range of an attack. While the response by the US military is to a certain extent a show of force, the firing drill was unusual, according to Koh Yu-Hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.
“The revealing of the drill by bombers is saber-rattling by South Korea and the US against the launch of the ICBM,” Koh said. “This time, the bombers carried out a firing drill, which is unusual.”
The drill was aimed at precision strikes against core military facilities of the enemy, including a launch pad for a ballistic missile, according to a South Korean Air Force statement. On their way to return to the Guam base, the U.S. bombers joined Japanese fighter jets and carried out a drill over the East China Sea, the U.S. said.
“North Korea’s actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland,” General Terrence O’ Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Force commander, said in the statement. “Let me be clear, if called upon we are trained, equipped and ready to unleash the full lethal capability of our allied air forces.”
The joint exercise with the bombers, which has happened before, came as the US, Japan and South Korea condemned the missile launch and called for more action against North Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-In said in Berlin that he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “anywhere, anytime” to talk.
The US is planning to carry out a test of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system against an intermediate-range ballistic missile in the coming days, Reuters reported. The test of the interceptors, which had been planned months ago, will take place from Alaska, the news agency reported.

Leaders of China, Japan meet at G-20 as Pyongyang worries rise
Bloomberg

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on Saturday in Germany as they seek to overcome years of rocky ties to better handle the military threat from North Korea.
The leaders agreed to enhance talks and exchanges and continue to put pressure on the regime in Pyongyang, according to Japan’s Kyodo News. It was their first formal discussion in 10 months, and came on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg.
Abe invited Xi to visit Japan next year and said he hoped for a long-overdue summit between the two countries plus South Korea, Kyodo reported.
North Korea this week trumpeted its first successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, with the capability to reach at least part of the US, further escalating tensions over the isolated regime’s nuclear ambitions.
But while China, Japan, the US, Russia and South Korea all condemned the test, their approaches differ on how best to rein in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, leading US President Donald Trump to castigate China in public for not doing enough to prod its neighbor and ally.
China favors talks with Pyongyang to defuse tensions.