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South Korea, Japan, US hold air drills following North's missile tests

Exercises come as hundreds of police detain impeached President Yoon over his short-lived martial law.

By RFA Staff 2025.01.15 -- South Korea, Japan and the United States held their first combined air drills of the year on Wednesday, a day after North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea's defense ministry said.

The trilateral drills came as hundreds of South Korean police and corruption investigation officers stormed impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's residential compound and arrested him.

Yoon faces insurrection charges after a failed attempt to impose martial law last month. Yoon said military rule was necessary to safeguard South Korea "from the threats posed by North Korea's communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements."

Wednesday's exercises involved a U.S. Air Force B-1B long-range bomber, South Korean F-15K fighter jets and Japanese Air Self Defense Force F-2 fighters, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The three sides last held exercises together in November. South Korea and the U.S. also held a separate aerial live fire exercise on Wednesday.

Tuesday's North Korean missile tests came just a week before Donald Trump is sworn-in as U.S. president. On Jan. 6, North Korea tested an intermediate range missile as outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for talks.

This week's test also came a day after Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, met in Seoul and reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral collaboration with the U.S. to counter the threat from North Korea.

"South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will strengthen cooperation to jointly deter North Korea's threats and respond to them while continuously expanding trilateral drills based on close cooperation," South Korea's defense ministry said on Wednesday.

The United States has about 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who begins his second term as president on Monday, raised questions during his first term about the costs of maintaining the U.S. force in South Korea.

Edited by Mike Firn.

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