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Korea, U.S. and Japan carry out first trilateral air drill since President Lee took office

Published: 18 Jun. 2025, 15:25

A South Korean F-15K fighter takes off during a trilateral joint air drill in international airspace south of Jeju Island on June 18. [NEWS1]

Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a trilateral joint air drill on Wednesday, deploying fighter jets in a show of security cooperation under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

The Korean Air Force said the joint aerial exercise took place in international airspace south of Jeju Island on Wednesday morning.

The drill featured two Korean F-15K fighters, six U.S. F-16s and two Japanese F-2 jets, the Korean Air Force said in a statement.

“This training was conducted to bolster trilateral security cooperation in response to North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile threats, and to contribute to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the wider region,” the Air Force said. “We will continue to carry out trilateral air exercises grounded in the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance.”

This was the first trilateral air drill involving Seoul, Washington and Tokyo since Lee took office, and the first such exercise in roughly five months. The previous drill took place on Jan. 15 and included the deployment of a U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bomber.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]