US Department of Defense: "Frequent ROK-US-Japan Air Force Exercises... Importance of Trilateral Cooperation"

John Kirby, U.S. Department of Defense Spokesperson
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 4th (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense described North Korea's criticism of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint air force exercise 'Red Flag' as "a training we conduct very frequently." John Kirby, the Department of Defense spokesperson, said at a briefing that he would not comment on the reactions of North Korean officials when asked about North Korea's condemnation of South Korea's participation in the exercise through the external propaganda media 'Meari' on the 2nd.

Regarding this exercise, Kirby said, "About 1,500 personnel from more than 20 units are expected to participate, including about 300 foreign participants, with the U.S. military, the Republic of Korea Air Force, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces participating." He added, "When Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently visited South Korea and Japan, he spoke about the importance of trilateral cooperation among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan. This is an example of that, and we look forward to the exercise." Emphasizing the participants from South Korea and Japan, he said, "They are not just partners. They are U.S. allies."

Red Flag is a simulated shoot-down exercise typically conducted assuming an enemy equipped with surface-to-air missiles and other air defense systems, dividing friendly forces as the Blue Force and the virtual enemy as the Red Force. This year's exercise will be held from the 10th to the 25th at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, with the Republic of Korea Air Force participating for the first time in three years and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force also joining.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.