According to Yonhap News Agency on April 15, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said on the 15th that the South Korean and US armies held a joint air exercise over the Korean Peninsula that day, and the US B-1B strategic bomber participated in the exercise.

  According to reports, in addition to B-1B, South Korean F-35A stealth fighter jets, F-16 fighter jets, and US F-16 fighter jets also participated in the exercise. The South Korean Ministry of Defense said that the exercise aims to demonstrate the extended deterrence capabilities of South Korea-US integration and strengthen the interoperability of the two militaries. South Korea and the United States will continue to expand the implementation of joint exercises and strengthen cooperation between the South Korea-US alliance.

  According to analysis, the South Korean and US militaries mobilized US strategic weapons and other joint air exercises, which may be intended to demonstrate North Korea's nuclear containment capabilities.

  The maximum flight speed of the B-1B strategic bomber is Mach 125 and the maximum range is 12,000 kilometers. It only takes two hours to fly from the US military's Guam base to the Korean Peninsula. Although the aircraft does not carry nuclear weapons, it can carry conventional weapons weighing up to 57 tons. B-1B previously flew over the Korean Peninsula on February 20. North Korea named the "Trump administration" the next day and said that North Korea will use strategic means to deal with the strategic threats imposed by hostile forces, including the United States.

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]