US, Japan, South Korea conduct first-ever trilateral aerial exercise

Asia-Pacific, News, US October 26, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States, South Korea, and Japan held their first-ever trilateral combined aerial exercise in an effort to send a strong message to North Korea. An American B-52 bomber and F-16 fighter jets participated in the exercise.

The aerial exercise was held around the Korean Peninsula and it was intended to increase trilateral defense cooperation between the three air forces. The exercise focused on boosting the joint response capabilities against North Korea and the potential threats that it poses to regional security.

The exercise involved a B-52 bomber plane from the United States as well as three F-16 fighter jets. South Korea participated with two of its F-15K fighter jets while Japan sent four F-2s to participate in the exercise.

“This aerial exercise builds on the continued interoperability of our collective forces and demonstrates the strength of the trilateral relationship with our Japan and Republic of Korea allies,” U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement.

A new era of trilateral cooperation

In the past, the U.S. has conducted numerous bilateral exercises with Japan and South Korea in the Indo-Pacific region and around the Korean Peninsula. This was the first time that three countries had participated in a trilateral aerial exercise.

There have also been several naval exercises involving the three countries, however, the first-ever trilateral aerial exercise has achieved a new milestone for the relationship between Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo.

^{The Republic of Korea and the U.S. Air Force conduct a combined aerial exercise with the deployment of U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress over the Republic of Korea, on June 30, 2023. (Image Credit: ROK Air Force)}

Leaders of the three countries met in August this year for the first-ever standalone meeting. In a trilateral agreement, that came to be known as the Camp David agreement, three countries pledged to hold regular multi-domain exercises.

Two of the U.S.’s strongest allies in the region, South Korea and Japan, have a history of cold relationships. However, historically strained relations between Tokyo and Seoul have improved significantly recently amid increasing geopolitical competition from China and security threats from North Korea.

North Korea’s reaction

Pyongyang has shown a strong reaction to the trilateral exercise. North Korea showed particular concerns over the deployment of aircraft like the B-52, which can be used to carry out nuclear attacks.

North Korean state media called the air drill an “intentional nuclear war” provocation and accused the U.S., South Korean, and Japanese leaders of plotting nuclear war provocations on the Korean Peninsula. In the past, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called Yoon, Biden, and Kishida “the gang bosses” of the three countries.

*^{North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leads a meeting of the Central Military Commission in Pyongyang, North Korea, on August 9, 2023. (Image Credit: KCNA/via Reuters)}*

Worries about North Korea’s nuclear program have deepened after it enacted a law that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons last year and has since openly threatened to use them in potential conflicts with the U.S. and South Korea.