US, South Korea, Japan hold drills after North Korea’s ICBM launch

Bloomberg

The US held aerial drills with South Korea and Japan in a show of force a day after North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, as
tit-for-tat military moves added to simmering tensions in the
region.
South Korea and the US flew B-1B bombers escorted by their fighter jets on Sunday in the joint air drill, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a text message. The aircrafts entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone.
American bombers and US and Japan fighter jets took part in a separate exercise, Kyodo reported. North Korea’s Hwasong-15 ICBM landed in waters within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The missile launch and aerial drills were a reminder of the growing strains in the Asia Pacific just as senior government officials were debating global security at a key annual conference in Munich. North Korea issued new warnings to the US after the launch, while the White House condemned the test and said it “will take all necessary measures” to ensure its security and that of allies South Korea and Japan.
North Korea is banned from testing ballistic missiles under international sanctions imposed for its nuclear arms
development. The Hwasong-15 reached a maximum altitude
of 5,768.5 kilometres (3,584 miles) and flew for 989 kilometers, the official Korean Central News Agency said, adding the surprise drill is “a guarantee for and a clear proof of the sure reliability of our powerful physical nuclear deterrent.”
“The US would be well-advised to stop saying that it is not hostile towards the DPRK and the door to dialogue is open, hoodwinking the world,” Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in comments carried by KCNA. “It should stop all the actions posing threats to the security of our state.”
The US has conducted joint drills with its allies in the region in the past to respond to
North Korean provocations. Pyongyang for decades has denounced the joint drills as a prelude to an invasion and war.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, brought back joint military exercises with the US. The drills had been scaled down or halted under former President Donald Trump, who was hoping the move would facilitate his nuclear negotiations with Kim.
Last month, the US and South Korea said they would step up the scale of their joint military exercises, and expand cooperation that includes Japan to better share information and coordinate responses to provocations from North Korea.