US bombers to conduct joint drill over Korean Peninsula

SEOUL - Two US strategic bombers plan to conduct a joint drill with fighter jets from the Republic of Korea on Tuesday over the Korean Peninsula, local media reported.

An unnamed ROK military source said that two B-1B supersonic bombers would carry out a joint drill later in the day with the ROK's F-15K fighter jets.

The US bombers would make a sortie to the peninsula to show the United States will contain military threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the source was quoted as saying.

The B-1B Lancer bombers were dispatched from the US Andersen Air Force base in Guam in the Western Pacific. It reportedly takes about two hours for the bombers to get to the peninsula from the US island.

The bombers would reportedly pass through the southern waters of ROK's southern resort island of Jeju, before moving to the East Waters of the Korean Peninsula and conducting the joint air drill with ROK fighter jets.

The aircraft allegedly plan to conduct mock bombing exercises at the Pilsung Range in Gangwon province, in ROK's eastern region.

The sortie followed the comments made by Moon Chung-in, a special adviser to ROK President Moon Jae-in on unification, security and foreign affairs.

The adviser said last week in Washington that if Pyongyang stops any further nuclear and missile activities, the deployment of US military strategic assets and the ROK-US joint military exercises can be scaled down through discussions with Washington.

ROK's presidential Blue House dismissed it as the scholar's personal view, not an official stance of the government.

President Moon is scheduled to visit Washington later this month for his first summit meeting with US President Donald Trump for two days from June 29.

Xinhua

(China Daily 06/21/2017 page11)