On Monday, large-scale exercises of military aviation of South Korea and the United States begin. This was reported by the agency "Yonhap" with reference to the South Korean Air Force.
"Thanks to these exercises, we will be able to reaffirm the strength of the alliance between South Korea and the United States and bring the joint operational potential to a new level," the agency quoted Colonel Lee Beom-ki, Chief of Staff of the Operational Command of the Republic of Korea Air Force, as saying.
The maneuvers will start at the Gwangju Air Force Base and will last 12 days. As noted by Yonhap, Seoul will use about 60 aircraft in training, including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 fighters, as well as a KC-330 tanker aircraft. Washington, in turn, will involve more than 40 aircraft in the exercises, including F-16, F-35B fighters, A-10 attack aircraft and FA-18 fighter-bombers.
In total, about 110 aircraft will be used in the exercises.
Seoul notes that as part of the training, the air forces of the two countries will, in particular, establish interaction between the crews of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters. The military will also practice combat flights, air defense operations and air support.
'Vicious circle'
It is worth noting that this is not the first exercise of the South Korean and US Air Forces in April. On Friday, the South Korean Ministry of Defense informed that the two countries conducted training with the involvement of the American strategic bomber B-52H. The exercise took place a day after North Korea launched the Hwasong-18 solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.
Pyongyang expects that the new ICBM will become the main means of the country's strategic armed forces and will play an important role in the deterrence system.
- U.S.-South Korea exercises in August 2022
- AP
- © Ahn Young-joon
According to Konstantin Asmolov, a researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the April exercises of the United States and South Korea can also be seen as a response to missile tests in the DPRK.
"The DPRK has tested a new ballistic missile. Therefore, these exercises can be considered a retaliatory measure. But it is worth recalling that the North Korean tests, in turn, were seen as a response to the previous maneuvers of Seoul and Washington, which took place in March. It turns out a kind of vicious circle, "Asmolov said in an interview with RT.
Recall that on March 12, Seoul and Washington conducted the Freedom Shield exercises. As noted by the media, these trainings were the largest in the last five years.
Simultaneously with the Freedom Shield, a series of combined field exercises took place on the Korean Peninsula under the general name Warrior Shield FTX ("Warrior Shield"). The purpose of these maneuvers, as stated, was to further strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of the two states through air, land, sea, space, special operations and operations in cyberspace.
Earlier, at the end of January, Seoul and Washington agreed to expand the program of joint military exercises. Among other things, we are talking about building up the American presence in the region and delivering F-22, F-35 fighters and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers there. In addition, the Pentagon did not rule out the use of nuclear weapons to protect the Asian partner.
Both sides argue that such cooperation is aimed at countering the threat posed by the DPRK. Of particular concern to Seoul and Washington is Pyongyang's nuclear missile program.
Meanwhile, North Korea has a different position, considering the military activity of the United States and South Korea to be an escalation of the situation in the region. In particular, after the Freedom Shield exercises in Pyongyang, they said that Seoul and Washington were putting the situation on the Korean Peninsula on the brink of nuclear war.
They also drew attention to the fact that the development of weapons like the Hwasong-18 is being carried out in response to "the deteriorating security situation on the Korean Peninsula and future military threats." This was reported by the Korean Central Telegraph Agency (KCNA).
The agency added that the DPRK leadership will continue to develop weapons so that "opponents feel a more obvious security crisis." Pyongyang intends to instill fear in opponents "with its countermeasures until ill-wishers abandon their aggressive policy."
Beijing is also looking at Washington's military activity in the region with concern.
As Liu Xiaoming, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for Korean Peninsula Affairs, noted, the United States is using the current situation on the Korean Peninsula to create obstacles to the PRC and form an alliance against it.
Liu Xiaoming also drew attention to the fact that critics of the DPRK's nuclear missile program do not take into account the reasons that encourage Pyongyang to develop such weapons. In his opinion, the DPRK resorts to such measures due to the lack of a security structure on the Korean Peninsula.
Russia also calls on the United States to listen to the security concerns of the DPRK.
As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted in March, Washington should respond constructively to Pyongyang's calls to stop exercises in the region.
"We call on the United States to respond constructively to the signals sent from Pyongyang. We are confident that in order to prevent extremely dangerous developments, it is necessary to immediately begin concrete steps to reduce military activity in the region, including large-scale military exercises," she said.
"Take into account the concerns of the DPRK"
Analysts, in turn, recall that a few years ago there was a certain decrease in confrontation on the Korean Peninsula. This process, among other things, was facilitated by the diplomatic efforts of the Donald Trump administration. However, after Joe Biden came to power in the United States, and Yoon Suk-yeol in South Korea, these trends came to naught.
- Pyongyang
- Gettyimages.ru
- © narvikk
"In South Korea, the course towards the DPRK has radically changed. As you know, President Moon Jae-in, the predecessor of Yoon Suk-yeol, pursued a policy of détente and the search for compromises with the DPRK. Yoon Suk-yeol decided to talk with the DPRK from a position of strength and strengthen the military-political alliance with the United States for this, which is of great concern to the North Koreans. They are not afraid of the South Koreans as a military force, but they understand that US troops are stationed there, so any conflict in the region is fraught with a clash with Washington, "Alexander Zhebin, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained in a conversation with RT.
Under these conditions, the expert says, the DPRK is taking "measures to counter the build-up of the military threat at its borders." At the same time, he added that Pyongyang "has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to compromise and take into account the concerns of the Americans and South Koreans."
"In 2018, Pyongyang promised not to launch long-range missiles, destroyed its nuclear test site and took a number of other measures that were supposed to signal its goodwill. But in response, the North Koreans received nothing - no concessions or, even more so, the lifting of sanctions, which are aimed at strangling the DPRK economy. Seeing that their steps went unanswered, the North Koreans again embarked on a path that, in their opinion, could force the Americans to take their concerns into account, "says Jebin.
In his opinion, recently the military activity of the United States and South Korea has increased, which undermines security in the region.
"The United States keeps talking about the North Korean threat. But what are U.S. warships doing in the region? It's been 70 years since the end of the Korean War, but U.S. troops are still there. After all, it is not off the coast of America that the DPRK conducts landings. On the contrary, it is the US Marine Corps that lands literally a hundred kilometers from North Korean territories, "the analyst says.
At the same time, Alexander Zhebin believes that for the United States, the threat from the DPRK is largely just a pretext for building up its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The military activity of the United States and its allies in the Far East is implemented regardless of the behavior of the DPRK. The threat allegedly emanating from this country is just a convenient excuse to justify the build-up of the American military presence near the borders of Russia and China. That is why the White House has never been in a hurry to resolve the conflict on the Korean Peninsula ... On the contrary, the United States, South Korea and Japan are imposing new sanctions against the DPRK and increasing military preparations near its borders, "the expert concluded.