US Holds Trilateral Drill With South Korea, Japan After North Korea Launches Missile Test

The drill demonstrated the three nations’ continued preparedness to respond to North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs, officials said.

U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, F-16 fighter jets, South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets and Japanese Air Force F-2 fighter jets fly during a trilateral air drill at an undisclosed location on Nov. 3, 2024. U.S. Air Force/South Korea Defense Ministry via AP

The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill alongside Japanese, and South Korean militaries on Nov. 3, just days after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time in nearly a year.

The training exercise saw the United States fly the B-1B bomber—a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system capable of carrying the largest conventional weapons payload in the Air Force inventory—alongside South Korean and Japanese fighter jets near the Korean Peninsula.