US, South Korea stage joint air exercise after North’s ICBM launch

The United States and South Korea have held a joint air exercise involving US strategic bombers after North Korea fired a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a "sudden launching drill".

On Sunday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exercise, where South Korea's F-35A, F-15K and US F-16 fighters escorted American B-1B bombers, demonstrated the allies' "overwhelming" defense capabilities and readiness posture.

"(The exercise) strengthened the combined operation capability and affirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of the Korean Peninsula and the implementation of extended deterrence," the South's military said in a statement.

The joint exercises comes after North Korea test fired a long-range Hwasong-15 ICBM off its east coast, making it Pyongyang’s second launch since January 1, after warning of a strong response to the upcoming US-South Korea military drills, which were earlier scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

North Korea's state media KCNA said the country conducted a "sudden launching drill" on Saturday in an "actual proof" of its efforts to turn the "capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces into the irresistible one."

North Korea fires long range missile ahead of US-South Korea drills

North Korea launched at least one long-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, after Pyongyang warned of a strong response to upcoming US-South Korea military drills.

Leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, issued yet another warning to the US for trying to turn the UN Security Council.

"I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us," she said.

Washington and Seoul had previously scheduled a joint military exercise for Wednesday, and was intended to set up possible scenarios where North Korea uses nuclear weapons and would explore how to cope with them militarily and formulate crisis management plans, South Korea’s defense ministry had said.

On Friday, North Korea had accused both Washington and Seoul of planning more than 20 rounds of military drills this year, and threatened for an "unprecedentedly persistent, strong" response.

According to North Korean state media, the missile flew for 1 hour, 6 minutes and 55 seconds, as high as 5,768 km (3,584 miles), before it accurately hit a pre-set area 989 km (614 miles) away in open waters.

The Japanese military said it believed the missile landed around 200 kilometers off Hokkaido and inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Saturday’s latest long-range launch followed a record number of unprecedented amounts of missile launches last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of flying across the ocean just to reach American soil.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Saturday's launch "clearly" signals the North's intent to conduct additional provocations.

"If North Korea conducts the seventh nuclear test, which could happen at any time, it will be a game changer in a sense that North Korea could develop and deploy tactical nuclear missiles," Park told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

North Korea maintains that it will not tolerate US-led war games in the region, vowing to continue responding with its own drills.

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