US flies supersonic bomber amid joint drills in show of force against North Korea

Seoul: As part of a combined joint air exercise with South Korea, the United States flew a supersonic bomber in a show of force against North Korea which launched ballistic missiles of continental range in East Sea this week.

At least one B-1B aircraft participated from the US side during the joint drills which culminated on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported citing South Korea's defence ministry. North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, the ministry added.

The Vigilant Storm exercise involved about 240 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets from both countries.

Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that Pyongyang had fired an unknown ballistic missile on the Sea of Japan. Media reports had said that the missile is believed to be an intermediate- or long-range missile, reported Al Jazeera.

During large-scale joint air drills between the US and South Korea, Seoul scrambled approximately 80 fighter jets after detecting North Korean warplanes on Friday.

Notably, the region's situation has been tense since the joint drills began on Monday, triggering an angry response from Pyongyang.

South Korea's military earlier said that an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was launched from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at around 7:40 am on Thursday. This latest launch marked the country's seventh firing of an ICBM in 2022.

However, South Korea's defence source told Yonhap that Thursday's missile seems to have failed in a routine flight.

Over 10 years in power, the North Korean leader has conducted more than 100 missile launches, including intercontinental launches, and four nuclear tests. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said numerous times that his country will continue to boost its nuclear potential.