People sit near a television showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on October 6, 2022. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)
SEOUL 鈥� North Korea fired four ballistic missiles on Saturday, the South Korean military said 鈥� the latest in Pyongyang鈥檚 testing blitz this week as Washington and Seoul concluded their biggest-ever air force drills.
The flurry of North Korean launches has included an intercontinental ballistic missile and one that landed near the South鈥檚 territorial waters. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called the barrage 鈥渆ffectively a territorial invasion鈥�.
The launches came as hundreds of US and South Korean warplanes 鈥� including B-1B heavy bombers 鈥� participated in the Vigilant Storm exercise, which Pyongyang described as 鈥渁ggressive and provocative.鈥�
鈥淭he South Korean military detected four short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea from Tongrim, North Pyongan Province, to the West Sea at around 11:32 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. today,鈥� South Korea鈥檚 Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement Saturday, using another name for the Yellow Sea.
Their 鈥渇light distance was detected at about 130 km (80 miles), an altitude of about 20 km, and a speed of about Mach 5鈥�, they added. Mach 5 is equivalent to five times the speed of sound.
The United States and South Korea have warned that these launches could culminate in a nuclear test by North Korea, and extended their air force drills in response by a day, until Saturday.
Pyongyang ramped up missile launches in response to the drills. Such exercises have long provoked strong reactions from North Korea, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion.
鈥楽ignificant threat鈥�
Vigilant Storm concluded with the US Air Force deploying two B-1B long-range heavy bombers on the final day in a ramped-up show of force.
This was the first time B-1Bs have flown to the Korean peninsula since December 2017.
The South Korean JCS said the move demonstrated the 鈥渃apability and readiness to firmly respond to any provocations from North Korea.鈥�
Pyongyang has especially condemned past deployments of US strategic weapons such as B-1Bs and aircraft carrier strike groups in times of high tension.
搁贰础顿:听South Korea scrambles jets after detecting 180 North Korean warplanes north of border
While the supersonic B-1B 鈥淟ancer鈥� aircraft no longer carries nuclear weapons, it is described by the US Air Force as 鈥渢he backbone of America鈥檚 long-range bomber force.鈥�
The USAF lists the Lancer鈥檚 weapons payload as 34 tons (75,000 pounds), which can include cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs.
The B-1B鈥檚 range can be extended by in-air refueling, giving it the ability to strike anywhere in the world.
Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean studies scholar, told AFP that given the B-1B鈥檚 status as a strategic US asset, its deployment will be seen as a 鈥渟ignificant threat鈥� by North Korea.
On Friday, South Korea scrambled fighter jets in response to what it said was the mobilisation of around 180 North Korean warplanes.
Experts say Pyongyang is particularly sensitive about these drills because its air force is one of the weakest links in its military, which lacks high-tech jets and properly trained pilots.
Compared with North Korea鈥檚 ageing fleet, Vigilant Storm has seen some of the most advanced US and South Korean warplanes in action, including F-35 stealth fighters.
The European Union on Saturday slammed the North鈥檚 missile launches as 鈥渁 dangerous escalation鈥� and called for a global 鈥渞esolute and united response鈥�, including the full weight of UN sanctions.
At the United Nations Security Council on Friday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield dismissed criticism of Vigilant Storm as North Korean 鈥減ropaganda,鈥� saying it posed no threat to other countries.
She assailed China and Russia during the emergency session, accusing them of having 鈥渆nabled鈥� North Korea.
Moscow and Beijing have in turn blamed Washington for the escalation, and the meeting ended without a joint statement from the full Council.