South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted combined air drills on Wednesday, involving two U.S. B-1B bombers, South Korean F-15K jets, and Japanese F-2 fighter jets, marking their first such exercise of the year. The drills aimed to enhance joint capabilities to deter North Korea’s evolving missile and nuclear threats, including its recent launches of hypersonic and short-range ballistic missiles. North Korea claimed a successful hypersonic missile test on January 6, but South Korea’s military dismissed the claims as deceptive. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command emphasized the exercises as a demonstration of strong trilateral cooperation for an immediate and coordinated response to regional security challenges. Additionally, South Korea and the U.S. conducted a separate live-fire aerial exercise involving F-15K and A-10 aircraft, bolstering their joint defense posture.
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