South Korea scrambled about 80 military aircraft, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, on Friday after tracking more than 200 flights by North Korean warplanes inside North Korean territory in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength.
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North Korea’s mobilization of warplanes came after it test-fired around 30 ballistic missiles over the previous two days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday that triggered evacuation warnings in Japan, in an angry response to ongoing joint exercises by hundreds of U.S. forces in South Korea.
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South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean warplanes were detected in various areas inland and along the country’s eastern and western coasts, but they didn’t come particularly close to the Koreas’ border.
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he military spotted 180 flight trails between 1 to 5 p.m. It wasn’t immediately clear how many North Korean planes were involved, or if some of them flew multiple times.
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The South Korea scrambled about 80 of its own warplanes, including an unknown number of F-35 fighters.
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U.S. and South Korean forces are holding joint “Vigilant Storm” military exercises, involving about 240 warplanes, including F-35s.
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South Korean officials say there are signs that North Korea will detonate its first nuclear test in several weeks.
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The experts agree that North Korea is trying to force the United States to accept it as a nuclear power and negotiate concessions from a position of strength.
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Following a meeting Thursday at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup released a joint statement saying they “strongly condemn” North Korea’s recent weapons demonstrations.
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Both defense leaders stressed that any use of nuclear weapons, including lower-yield tactical nuclear devices, against Seoul or other regional allies such as Japan, would “end the Kim Jong Un regime by an overwhelming and decisive response of the alliance.