South Korea took off its jets on Friday after North Korea launched about 180 flights near the shared military demarcation line that divides the two nations.
North Korean military forces were detected flying just north of the tactical line, also known as the Armistice Line, which was established in 1953 and formally ended the Korean War, Reuters reported.
South Korean Air Force F15K fighters and U.S. Air Force F-16s fly in formation during a joint exercise at an unknown location in South Korea, October 4, 2022.
(Ministry of Defense of South Korea via AP, File)
WE, SOUTH KOREA THREATEN THE “END” OF THE KIM REGIME IF NORTH KOREA USES A NUCLEAR WEAPON
South Korea responded to the surge by taking off 80 aircraft, including F-35A stealth fighters.
The aggressive show of force in North Korea’s airspace came just hours after Washington and Seoul extended joint military exercises and some 240 aircraft continued with the largest ever US-South Korean military exercises, dubbed ” Watchful Storm “.
The exercises were extended Thursday after Pyongyang launched a failed ICBM test and launched at least six missiles into the sea.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took a stern tone when he and South Korean Defense Minister Jong-Sup Lee announced the extended drills involving thousands of military personnel and told reporters that “at this time of growing tension, our alliance is armored “.
A television screen showing a news program reporting North Korean missile launches at Seoul Railway Station, South Korea on November 4, 2022. The sign reads “North Korea’s main ballistic missile range” .
(AP Photo / Ahn Young-joon)
USA AND SOUTH KOREA EXTEND AIR FORCES AFTER ICBM NORTH KOREA FIRE
“We are returning to large-scale exercises to strengthen our combined readiness and our ability to fight tonight if needed,” he added.
The senior defense official in Seoul added that “any nuclear attack by the DPRK, including the use of tactical nuclear weapons, is unacceptable” and warned that it could mean “the end of the [the] Kim Jong un regime “.
North Korea challenged joint military exercises earlier this week and launched the largest number of missiles ever launched from Pyongyang in one day, directing 23 missiles to South Korea on Wednesday, with at least one landing near the shared sea border. .
Visitors walk by wire fences decorated with message ribbons wishing the peace of the two Koreas at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea on Friday, November 4, 2022.
(AP Photo / Lee Jin-man)
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The show of force was the first time a short-range ballistic missile has landed near the territory of South Korea since 1945, when the peninsula was divided.
The launches came just hours after North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons to persuade the US and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history.”
