South, U.S., Japan stage joint air drills in response to North's ICBM launch

South Korea, the United States and Japan staged joint air drills on Sunday in response to North Korea's recent launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

A U.S. B-1B heavy supersonic bomber, first from left, flies accompanied by F-15K jets from the South Korean Air Force, center, F-16 jets from the U.S. Air Force, top right, and F-2 jets from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, lower left, over waters east of Jeju Island on Sunday. [U.S. AIR FORCE]

South Korea, the United States and Japan staged joint air drills involving a B-1B bomber south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday in response to North Korea's recent launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said South Korean, U.S. and Japanese fighter jets escorted the B-1B bomber over a maritime area east of Jeju where the air defense identification zones of South Korea and Japan overlap.

During the exercise, the B-1B bomber conducted strikes against a simulated target to demonstrate its “overwhelming” capabilities, according to the JCS.

In a press release, the JCS said the exercise was staged “in response to North Korea’s launch of an ICBM on Oct. 31” and intended to showcase “increasing security cooperation between the three countries” to “deter and jointly respond to North Korea's threats.”

Sunday’s trilateral exercise was the second set of joint drills conducted by Seoul, Washington and Tokyo this year.

The exercise took place three days after North Korea launched a Hwasong-19 long-range missile, which the regime called a “perfected” ICBM.

According to Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Hwasong-19 reached an altitude of 7,687.5 kilometers (4,776.8 miles) over a duration of 5,156 seconds, or 85 minutes and 56 seconds — setting new records for both altitude and flight time among the ICBMs tested by the North.

Although the missile traveled just over 1,000 kilometers before landing in the East Sea about 200 kilometers west of the Japanese island of Okushiri near Hokkaido, the short distance relative to its long flight time fits the KCNA’s explanation that the missile was launched on a lofted or high-angle trajectory.

The missile’s flight time and peak altitude suggest it possesses a longer range or larger payload capacity than its predecessors.

South Korean and U.S. military experts believe that if the Hwasong-19 is launched on a standard-angle trajectory, it could reach distances of more than 15,000 kilometers — enough to strike anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

According to the KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the launch with his daughter Kim Ju-ae and expressed “great satisfaction” with the missile's performance.

He declared that the launch had “proved before the world” North Korea’s “hegemonic position” in weapons development, which he called “absolutely irreversible.”

Photos from the event show that the Hwasong-19 was launched from an 11-axle transporter erector launcher (TEL), indicating an upgraded configuration from the Hwasong-18’s nine-axle TEL.

In its English-language report, KCNA touted the Hwasong-19 and the Hwasong-18, which was first tested in April last year, as “the primary core means in defending the DPRK, thoroughly containing the enemies’ acts of aggression and reliably protecting national security.”

DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The blunt shape of the Hwasong-19 warhead, contrasting with the sharper warhead on the Hwasong-18, suggests it is possibly intended to accommodate multiple warheads.

A Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile begins to take off in this photo released by the Workers' Party official newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Friday, a day after the launch. [NEWS1]

At the 8th Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in 2021, Kim said his regime would aim to develop multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology, which would allow the regime’s already formidable missiles to be mounted with multiple warheads to evade and overcome interception systems during their descent through the atmosphere.

Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said he interprets the test as a reminder of the country's growing nuclear capabilities aimed at “emphasizing North Korea’s irreversible nuclear sophistication.” Min adds that the missile test stands as both a critique of current U.S. policy on North Korea and as a talking point for the Trump campaign’s attacks on the Democratic administration.

Hong added that the North’s latest display of power is likely intended to consolidate internal support, especially in light of recent reports that the regime has deployed troops to support Russia.

“North Korea’s current strategy appears to come in response to the international attention and pressure about the troop deployment and is aimed at reframing recent troop movements as a justified reaction to U.S. threats,” Hong said.

“By underscoring the cause of the problem as a ‘nuclear forces response posture’ — meaning the United States and South Korea — Pyongyang may be attempting to reshape external criticism of its military deployment.”

BY MICHAEL LEE, SEO JI-EUN [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]