North Korea latest: Japan and US send warplanes over the East China Sea as tensions rise
JAPANESE and US warplanes have carried out more exercises over the East China Sea as South Korea braces for a possible further missile test by North Korea on its founding anniversary.
By SIMON OSBORNE
Express.co.uk
Sat, Sep 9, 2017
The region has been on high alert since Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test last weekend and military activity has intensified with a series of manoeuvres taking place throughout the week.
Japan’s Air Self Defence Force (ASDF) said the latest exercises involved two Japanese F-15 fighter jets and two US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flying from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.
Japanese F-15 fighter jets also conducted an air exercise with US B1-B bombers and F-35 stealth fighters in skies south of the Korean peninsula on August 31, two days after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan.
Tokyo and Washington have agreed to increase their military co-operation in an attempt to counter the threat from North Korea.
North Korea is under mounting international pressure over its missile and military nuclear programs and has been subjected to an array of United Nations sanctions.
But Pyongyang says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward the country and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.
The latest exercises were carried against a backdrop of growing fears that North Korea might be plotting a provocative missile launch or even another nuclear test as its marks its anniversary with a national holiday.
The Rest…HERE
