US will bring in strategic weapons
By Jun Ji-hye
The militaries of South Korea and the United States are discussing holding joint war drills featuring various U.S. strategic assets following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test, South Korean officials said Monday.
The U.S. military will bring in stealth fighter jets, heavy bombers and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to South Korea for the “biggest-ever exercise” to retaliate against North Korea’s provocation, the officials said.
Some of the drills will be aimed at striking the North’s key facilities and its leadership, including the young leader, Kim Jong-un.
On Sunday, Pyongyang claimed to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The Kim regime has claimed its ICBM is capable of striking targets on the U.S. mainland.
Following the large-scale provocation, Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Joseph Dunford held a phone conversation and agreed to come up with “effective military responses” at the earliest possible date aimed at demonstrating the allies’ force and resolve.
“Jeong and Dunford are currently holding relevant consultations,” an official said, asking not to be named.
Dispatching F-22 Raptors and F-35B stealth fighters to the peninsula could be one measure, along with the dispatch of B-1B and B-52 strategic bombers. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan or the U.S. Forces Japan’s nuclear-powered submarines could join as well.
Allies are reportedly considering conducting the heavy bombers’ live-fire exercises in which they would drop bombs on simulated targets.
Another official noted the allies are also discussing the possible rotational deployment of U.S. strategic weapons, mindful of skepticism that dispatching such weapons temporarily is less effective.
The possible deployment plans include deploying F-22s and F-35Bs every three months at either Osan in Gyeonggi Province or Gunsan in North Jeolla Province, where U.S. Air Force bases are located, according to sources.
For his part, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned that the North’s threats to strike Washington and its allies would face a “massive” military response, saying the U.S. has “many military options” and U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to be briefed on each one of them.
“We made clear that we have the ability to defend ourselves and our allies, South Korea and Japan, from any attack, and our commitments among the allies are ironclad,” Mattis said after a National Security Council meeting with President Trump at the White House.
“Any threat to the United States or its territory, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.”