S.Korea, U.S. Showcase Air Power During Official’s Visit

South Korea and the United States staged a joint air power demonstration on Tuesday during a visit by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

The demonstration, which involved 20 warplanes including F-35A stealth fighter jets, came a day after the allies fired eight surface-to-surface missiles off South Korea’s east coast in response to a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea on Sunday.

The South Korean military said in a statement, South Korea and the United States demonstrated their strong ability and determination to quickly and accurately strike any North Korean provocation, adding the allies are closely monitoring and preparing for any further provocation by the North.

The statement came hours after Sherman met with her South Korean counterpart, Cho Hyun-dong, in Seoul to discuss North Korea. The reclusive state has staged a series of missile tests recently and some analysts believe it is preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons after a five year hiatus.

In a News Conference after the meeting, Sherman said any nuclear test would be in complete violation of UN Security Council resolutions (and) there would be a swift and forceful response to such a test.

Authorities and North Korean experts have been saying for weeks that there are signs of new construction at Punggye-ri, North Korea’s only known nuclear test site.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi on Monday said North Korean building work expanding key facilities at its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon is advancing.

North Korea has been suffering from its first-ever outbreak of COVID-19 in the past month, with the country reporting a total 4,198,890 people with fever symptoms as of Monday. North Korea has not confirmed the total number of people testing positive for the coronavirus.