United States and South Korea begin 5-day joint air exercise: Report

South Korea and the United States held joint air drills on Monday, 1 November. South Korea and the US will conduct a five-day joint air exercise from November 1 to 5, ANI reported. The joint exercise will include 100 aerial forces from both the United States and South Korea.

US-South Korea air exercise

In the five-day-long air exercise, 100 aircrafts were dispatched from each side, including South Korea's F-15Ks and KF-16s and US F-16s. In the aerial drill, no military assets from the US mainland participated in the exercise. The training between the two countries is carried out by dividing the forces that are attending the battalian-level or lower level depending on the training mission.

Earlier, the two countries used to hold the air exercise every year in December. The air exercise held between the US and South Korea was called 'Vigilant Ace'. However, the exercise has been replaced by comprehensive training since 2018 when the relations between South Korea and North Korea witnessed improvement. This year, military authorities from both countries have not announced the exercise schedule. As per the ANI report, the exercise between the US and South Korea has been conducted in 'low-key' manner.

North Korea has been criticising the military drill between the allies as a practice for war. North Korea in August, disconnected inter-Korean hotlines when the allies carried out summer training in South Korea, reported Independent. The move comes  after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile from Sinpo. As per the report, the US Envoy for North Korea urged North Korea to engage in discussion and had called the tests as "concerning and counterproductive".

South Korea calls on North to give green signal to Pope Francis visit

On 1 November, the South Korean government called on the North Korean government to give the green signal to Pope Francis visit to the country, claiming that it would bolster regional peace, according to ANI. The Pope met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Friday, October 29. The key subjects covered at the meeting were the difficulty of lowering tension on the Korean peninsula and the possibility of the pontiff visiting North Korea, reported Sputnik citing local observers.  

With inputs from ANI

Image: AP/RepresentativeImage