The South’s defence ministry reported that a U.S. B-1 strategic bomber, along with South Korea and U.S. fighter jets, conducted a training mission over the Korean peninsula on Wednesday. During this mission, they deployed a guided JDAM weapon, commonly used with bunker-busting munitions.
The drill took place a day after South Korea announced the resumption of all military activities along the border with North Korea, following the suspension of their 2018 military pact designed to ease tensions and prevent military clashes.
In a statement, the ministry said that the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) was used around the peninsula for the first time in seven years during an exercise that demonstrated its precision strike capabilities.
It makes use of a guidance system that converts unguided free-fall bombs, including the BLU-109 penetrator warhead, into precision munitions using a navigation and control unit, the U.S. Air Force said.
The ministry did not specify the location of the training flight. South Korean F-15K fighters flying with the B-1 carried out live firing in the drills in which U.S. and South Korean Stealth F-35 jets and F-16s also participated, it said.
The resumption of military activities was a response to the North’s launch of hundreds of balloons carrying trash into the South, which called the move an unacceptable provocation that left it no choice but to suspend the military pact.
North Korea had said last year it was no longer bound by the agreement.
South Korea’s Marines plan a live-fire exercise on remote west coast islands near the maritime border disputed by the North, making use of K-9 mechanised artillery, a South Korean government source said on Wednesday.
The sensitive sea border has been the scene of deadly clashes in the past between South and North Korean artillery units and naval vessels.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries have stepped up training exercises in response to North Korea’s weapons testing, including ballistic missile launches and tactical weapons firing.
With Inputs from Reuters
