In this file photo dated Oct 14, 2019, a Republic of Korea Air Force pilot checks a wing of an F-15K fighter jet during a preview of the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition at a military air base in Seongnam, south of Seoul. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
SEOUL – The Republic of Korea and the United States kicked off joint aerial drills on Monday, a military official in Seoul said, amid tensions over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's recent missile tests and calls for a restart of denuclearization talks.
The exercises, previously called Vigilant Ace once mobilized tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of cutting-edge fighter jets, bombers and other warplanes.
The ROK and the US began the drills, which will last five days, without announcing or naming them
But the program has been scaled back since 2017 to facilitate talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs in return for US sanctions relief.
The allies began the drills, which will last five days, without announcing or naming them. Yonhap said that some 100 aircraft were dispatched from each side, including ROK's F-15Ks and KF-16s and US F-16s, but that no equipment or soldiers from the US mainland would join the exercises.
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An ROK air force spokesman declined to confirm the report.
The drills came after the DPRK fired a submarine launched ballistic missile, the latest in its recent series of weapons tests.
The US envoy for the DPRK, Sung Kim, slammed the test as "concerning and counterproductive" during his visit to Seoul last week and urged Pyongyang to accept offers to talks.
The DPRK has so far rebuffed US overtures, accusing Washington and Seoul of applying "double standards" by criticizing its weapons programs while talking diplomacy and stoking tension with their own military activities.
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