US, South Korea, Japan Host First Trilateral Aerial Exercise Amid North Korean

Historic Military Training Involves US Nuclear-Capable B-52 Bomber and Fighter Jets from South Korea and Japan; Escalating Tensions Expected as North Korea Continues Nuclear Provocations

The U.S., South Korea, and Japan conducted their first-ever joint aerial exercise in response to North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. The drill, held near the Korean Peninsula, aimed to implement defense cooperation and improve joint response capabilities.
The exercise involved a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber from the U.S., with fighter jets from South Korea and Japan. The three countries together host about 80,000 American troops. This marked the first trilateral aerial training, in contrast to previous joint maritime drills.
In South Korea, military drills with Japan have been a sensitive issue due to historic resentment against Japan's colonial rule over the Peninsula (1910-45). Despite this, North Korea's nuclear program has prompted South Korea's conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to strengthen trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.
In a trilateral summit at Camp David in August, leaders of the U.S., South Korea, and Japan agreed to bolster defense cooperation against North Korea's threats. This has led to the decision to hold annual trilateral exercises and share real-time missile warning data by the end of the year.
The latest joint exercise could trigger a fierce response from North Korea, which has historically seen such measures as invasion rehearsals leading to reciprocal missile tests. North Korea has even enacted a law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear weapons and openly threatens to use them against the U.S. and South Korea.