South Korea stages air drill with US in response to North Korea missile launch

South Korea and the United States held a combined air drill involving a US strategic bomber on Sunday in response to North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday, South Korea’s military said.

North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast on Saturday afternoon after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States.

It said on Sunday it had tested a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day in a “sudden launching drill” that confirmed its readiness for “mobile and mighty counterattack” against hostile forces.

“The surprise ICBM launching drill … is an actual proof of the DPRK strategic nuclear force’s consistent efforts to turn its capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces into the irresistible one,” the state news agency KCNA said. DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.