US holds massive military drills aimed at North Korea despite warnings from Moscow

rt.com

US and Japanese warplanes held joint exercises south of the Korean peninsula, in what has been described as one of the largest military drills to date aimed at North Korea. Moscow warned that the exercises will “increase tension” with Pyongyang.

Four Japanese F-15 fighters on Tuesday held drills with American B1-B bombers, F-35 stealth fighters and F-18 combat jets above the East China Sea, south of the Korean peninsula, Japan’s Air Self Defence Force (ASDF) confirmed.

Described as among the largest joint exercises of its kind to date, the drill included American aircraft stationed in Guam and Japan.

“The drill was meant to bolster joint operations and raise combat skills,” the ASDF said in a statement, as cited by Reuters.

On Monday, Russian military chief General Valery Gerasimov warned Japan that participating in military exercises with the United States around the Korean Peninsula could escalate regional tensions with North Korea.

During his visit to Tokyo, Gerasimov told Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera that military drills aimed at pressuring Pyongyang to abandon missile testing could “increase tension and bring instability.” “We believe that the issue should be resolved only through political and diplomatic means,” said Gerasimov, as quoted by Russian media.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo began joint “missile tracking” drills on Monday. The new round of military exercises comes just days after the US and its allies concluded massive air maneuvers over the Korean Peninsula.