[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence photo] Scene of over 30 F-15K jets taking off simultaneously

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 25th, North Korea conducted a show of force by launching three ballistic missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), immediately after U.S. President Joe Biden's visits to South Korea and Japan. It is also observed that this was intended to demonstrate its capability for a 'nuclear preemptive strike' targeting the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

In response, South Korea and the United States took strong countermeasures. Missile units from both countries fired one missile each?South Korea's Hyunmoo-II and the U.S. military's ATACMS?into the East Sea in a joint surface-to-surface missile live-fire exercise, showcasing the allied forces' rapid strike capability to deter further provocations from North Korea.

The joint response by the South Korean and U.S. military authorities to North Korea's strategic provocation marks the first such action in 4 years and 10 months since July 2017.

Additionally, separately from this, the Air Force detected signs of North Korea's ballistic missile provocation in advance the previous day and continuously tracked them. Preparing for an actual launch, about 30 F-15K fighter jets were deployed on the runway fully armed and conducted an Elephant Walk training exercise, which involves multiple fighter jets taxiing on the ground in close formation fully armed just before takeoff.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "This show of force by our military demonstrates our firm resolve to respond decisively to any provocations, including North Korea's ICBM launches, and shows that we possess the capability and posture to precisely strike the origin of provocations with overwhelming power."

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